I 



Lendcn.fuMi'shtd In WiUiM/tH'cnt.Liidpate ffili.JunejSio. 



SERMONS 
TO ASSES, 

TO 

DOCTORS IN DIVINITY, *„. 

TO 

lo^tis Spiritual, 

AND TO 

MINISTERS OF STATE. 



BY THE LATE REV. JAMES MURRAY, 
Of Newcastle. 



WITH AN ENGRAVED PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR, 

AND 

AN ORIGINAL SKETCH OF HIS LIFE. 



** Issachar is a strong ass couching down "between two burdens." 

Gen. xlix. 14. 

«« A nation of slaves is a kingdom of asses."— Sermons to Asses. 
" The Articles of the Church, and the Athanasian Creed, are like the 
£wo laps of Balaam's saddle." — Ibid. 




LONDON: 

PRINTED FOR WILLIAM HONE, LUDGATE HILL, 



1819. 




Jointed by Macdonald & Swb, 
Cloth Fair, lendoa. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF 

THE REV. JAMES MURRAY. 



It is deemed proper by the Publisher to state, that 
he had nearly completed the printing of the present 
Collection towards the close of the year 1817, when 
certain circumstances, which the reader may perhaps 
recollect, intervened to prevent its conclusion then, 
and to protract it until now, and enabled him to pro- 
cure the ensuing Memoir of the Author from one of 
his relatives. 

There is no other account of him extant. 



If talents, various and eminent, exerted uniformly, 
through a life of no very short duration, in promoting 
the best interests of mankind, had been attended to by 
the compilers of modern biography with that regard 
due to the highest order of merit, the public would 
not now have to lament the apathy or prejudice, that 
has left almost without any record the life and cha- 
racter of such a man as the author of Sermons to 
Asses. 

But this omission, so little creditable to the taste of 

a2 



IV 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 



the times in which he lived, and to the spirit of hu 
literary contemporaries, is now perhaps much more 
easily accounted for, than supplied by oral testimony, 
or even accurate vouchers. Time, whose scythe i& 
incessantly employed in thinning the ranks of the 
living, cuts off in a few years many of those friends 
who were the only depositories of private anecdote, 
from whence alone the faithful biographer can draw 
his best materials for a finished portrait of real 
character. 

The author of Sermons to Asses was not a little re- 
markable for possessing two opposite qualities, seldom 
found united in the same character. From a cheerful 
temperament of miud, he was on most topics facetious 
and playful ; hut in defending the rights of civil and 
religious liberty, either in private conversation, or from 
the pulpit, he was grave and stern as Diogenes him- 
self. It was one of his maxims, " that no man could 
be a real Christian, who was not a warm and zealous 
friend to civil and religious liberty." With those, 
therefore, who thought a Christian pulpit profaned by 
any allusion to the abuses of government, and the 
rights of a free people, he differed much : but with 
those of the clergy, who, from views of interest or 
ambition, made their pulpits subservient to the cause 
of arbitrary power, he differed more. The former, he 
had the charity to think, might be well-meaning, 
though weak ; but the latter he denounced as the very 
worst of all hypocritical knaves. He never failed to 
inculcate, as sound doctrine, that " the gospel was the 
best charter of rights and liberties; and its vigilant 
defence against all encroachments from treachery or 
power, one of the first duties of a Christian." He was 



THE REV. JAMES MURRAY. 



V 



indeed a man, who would enter into no sort of com- 
promise with any one on political truths ;-~he would 
not allow of any distinction between lukewarm friends 
and avowed enemies ;— and he made no scruple of 
employing either reason or ridicule against both, as 
best suited his purpose; being of opinion, that all 
weapons were lawful, when wielded in the cause of 
truth. If, in this kind of temper, something of human 
frailty appears, it may with strict truth be said of him, 
what Goldsmith says of his village preacher, that 

** E'en his failings lean'tl to virtue's side." 

His opinions, however, though they bore ample tes- 
timony to the purity of his zeal, to the independence 
of his mind, and to the honest frankness of his charac- 
ter, were far from being of that pliant and accommo- 
dating kind, which is calculated to flatter the prejudices 
of the weak, to still the animosities of party spirit, or 
to command general esteem. Some few, perhaps, 
were of opinion, that his views of religion were at 
once new and liberal ; and many more, no doubt, 
thought his politics sound and salutary : but his bene- 
volent amalmagation of both was little relished beyond 
the pale of his own congregation. His labours, both 
from the pulpit and the press, struck alike at antiqua- 
ted errors, and modern innovations on popular rights; 
both of which Corruption, in church and state, even in 
his day, though but then comparatively of infant 
growth, had enlisted in their defence, together with 
almost all the talent, servility, and selfishness, in the 
country. Hence, on the death of this celebrated 
patriot and Christian pastor, who had been, for these 
reasons, much more feared than esteemed in life, all 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 



parties, by a kind of tacit consent, seem to have 
agreed to suffer his memory to slide silently into 
, oblivion. But his works will form a lasting monu- 
ment, which will recall his memory to future ages, 
when his pigmy opponents will be no more remem- 
bered than the fluttering insects of an hour. 

Very little is known of his early life, more than that 
he was a native of the south-west Scottish borders, and 
born some time about the year 1720. He was de- 
scended from a reputable and religious family, some 
members of which suffered much from, the ruthless 
persecutions carried on against the old Scottish Cove- 
nanters in the reigns of that unfeeling and licentious 
prince, Charles the Second, and his more bigoted and 
barbarous brother. The bare recital of the tortures 
inflicted, and the cruelties perpetrated on these de- 
fenceless and unhappy people, for no other crime than 
an attachment to the faith of their fathers, would, even 
now, at this distance of time, make a savage shudder. 
This dreadful attempt of an inhuman government, to 
force, by fire, sword, and slaughter, an episcopal 
church-establishment on Scotland, though eventually 
unsuccessful, was followed by consequences that the 
friend of both countries, and of mankind, will ever 
have cause to lament. Among other results it produced 
was a rooted hatred, kindled in the public mind, of that 
country, against the very name of Bishop, and every 
thing connected with episcopal worship. 

Of this spirit, the natural offspring of tyrannical 
oppression, Mr. Murray, while yet young, had im- 
bibed a large portion ; and which, instead of being* 
extinguished by time, it is pretty evident from his 
writings, rather grew with his growth, and strength- 



THE REV. JAMES MURRAY. vil 

ened with his years. It was probably this feeling-, 
combined with a sagacity that no attempt to disguise 
error, or veil hypocrisy, could deceive, that made him, 
through life, consider the profession of a priest, in our 
church-establishment, as a common trade, followed 
merely for gain ; and the rich livings of its dignitaries, 
as nothing less than a breach of the laws of God, and 
a direct robbery of the poor. Hence, when he had 
attained to advanced life, he used to say, that the Kirk 
of Scotland, as a national establishment, being an hun- 
dred times cheaper, might, on that account alone, be 
fairly presumed to be an hundred times more honest, 
than the Church of England. Besides the costly 
establishments of our Church, he very much disap- 
proved of the distribution of its wealth ; and never 
could be brought to relish that sort of hierarchy, that 
allowed a Right Reverend fat Father in God to live in 
splendid idleness, pampered with luxuries, and clad in 
scarlet and fine linen, while the meagre, laborious, 
and thread-bare curate, could scarcely procure more 
delicious fare than humble bread and cheese, and who 
sometimes was even obliged to play the fiddle, for the 
amusement of travellers at an inn, to eke out his 
scanty income, and enable him to find decent rags to 
clothe his children. It was this unseemly contrast of 
clerical rank and fortune, that increased his disgust to 
an establishment that he thought had little else to 
recommend its character. On the costume and external 
pomp of the higher orders of English clergy, he was, 
in private conversation, far from being sparing of his 
censure. In a lively mood, he would wind up his 
strictures on these dignitaries by saying, " that they 
bore as little resemblance to the simple founders of the 



Tiii 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 



Christian system, as mountebanks at a country fair to 
a grave synod of presbyterian elders/' 

Of the events that marked his progress from youth 
to manhood, we know little but from the tales of 
tradition, which speak of him as a prodigy of wit and 
humour, and as a scholar of great promise. He was 
destined to fill a place in the presbyterian ministry of 
the Kirk of Scotland, for which he soon gave abundant 
proofs of competent ability. In England, the presby- 
terian dissenters exercise an uncontrolled right in 
choosing their own pastors, the latter of whom, when 
they receive a congregational call, have to undergo the 
forms of ordination before a presbytery of the Kirk of 
Scotland. Mr. Murray received such a call from a 
congregation at Newcastle, a little before the com- 
mencement of the American war. 

It was now that he was placed on a stage where he 
was soon called to mingle in political warfare, as well 
as theological controversy, and where he had ample 
room for the full display of his various and vigorous 
powers of mind. The Reverend John Wesley, who, 
from his vast influence over almost the whole of the 
labouring population of that day in the north of 
England, was commonly called the " Protestant Pope y 1 
had the hardihood to publish a high-flying Tory pam- 
phlet, to prove Taxation no Tyranny. In that publi- 
cation, the doctrines of the fawning Filmer were re- 
vived, and passive obedience and non-resistance to the 
powers that be, were contended for, as being para- 
mount Christian duties. This unblushing perversion 
of talent, and of truth, ushered into the world by a man of 
great authority with the multitude, and from whom bet- 
ter things might have been expected, determined Mr, 



THE REV. JAMES MURRAY. 



Murray to enter the lists with the great Methodistical 
leader. In the answer of our author, the reasonings of 
Wesley are completely refuted, his sophistry pointedly 
exposed, and his puerile and presumptuous attempts 
to draw from Scripture any countenance to oppression 
ridiculed in a strain of cutting irony peculiar to him- 
self. This pamphlet appears to have cured Wesley of 
his political mania; for he never after favoured the 
world with Tory publications. 

The pamphlet, however, brought the writer into 
notice, and fixed him ever afterwards in the public eye. 
Much about this time, Sir George Saville's Bill for the 
removal of certain Catholic disabilities had thrown 
the whole kingdom into a ferment. Amongst the 
ablest and most determined of the Catholic opponents 
was our author. He not only declaimed against 
Catholic concession in the pulpit, but was particularly 
active in calling public meetings to petition against 
their claims, and at which he was always the leading 
speaker. This part of his conduct has been, with 
apparent justice, severely blamed by some, who wen* 
unquestionably competent to judge, and who were, 
nevertheless, far from being insensible to his general 
merits. They thought, and said, that such conduct 
bespoke a narrowness of mind, and an intolerance of 
spirit, wholly unworthy of his character. Before, 
however, these charges can be fairly and finally 
decided, for or against him, his reasons for opposing 
the Catholic claims of that day should be fully and 
impartially considered. He was not like some of the 
stupid canting bigots of these times : he did not op- 
pose the Catholics on account of their religious creed ; 
nor because they believed in -transubstantiation, or 

b 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 



enjoined auricular confession ; but because be deemed 
their whole system of worship an artful and wicked 
contrivance of priestcraft, to perpetuate the ignorance 
of the people, that they might the more easily be 
fleeced with impunity. His objections to the Catholics 
were not of a religious, but of a political kind ; and 
when it is recollected, how much his native country 
had suffered, even in his father's time, from the domi-* 
neering and persecuting spirit of an episcopal priest- 
hood, some allowance may be made for his aversion to 
another, which he deemed still more intolerant. Whe- 
ther these considerations, when taken together, may, 
or may not, be held a satisfactory justification of our 
author's opposition to the Catholic claims, strict im- 
partiality requires, at least, that they should be stated 
in a sketch of his life. 

As might be expected, he was a decided enemy to 
Lord North's administration, and particularly to the 
American war. Both the pulpit and the press were 
actively employed by him to open the eyes of the 
people to the injustice and oppression of that unhappy 
contest with our colonies. With the view of making 
a stronger impression on the public mind, he went 
through a course of weekly lectures, at his meeting- 
house in Newcastle, on subjects selected from scripture, 
for the purpose of enlightening the people on the na- 
ture of political rights and duties. It was his custom 
to announce publicly each of these lectures by adver- 
tisement, which, from the novelty of his subjects, and 
the popular style in which he discussed them, con- 
stantly drew to his meeting-house crowded congrega- 
tions. Such was the singular, but important use, which 
his ardent zeal led him to make of his pulpit. But, 



THE REV. JAMES MURRAY. 



xi 



powerful as were the effects produced by his labours in 
this way, he could not rest satisfied without calling in 
the aid of the press. In concert, therefore, with some 
other dissenting ministers, he brought out a periodical 
political miscellany, in which the principles of just 
government, the rights of the people, and the other 
interesting topics of the day were clearly explained* 
and freely discussed. 

To render, however, the detested American war 
unpopular and odious among the people, his active 
spirit sought other means than those afforded by the 
pulpit and the press. He took the lead in calling pub- 
lic meetings to petition Parliament against its conti- 
nuance, at which he never failed to inveigh in the 
severest terms against the authors and abettors of that 
unnatural and ruthless contest. The Church clergy, 
to whom he had rendered himself extremely obnoxious, 
were many of them then, what too many of them are 
still, the active defenders of Corruption, and the invete-* 
'rate enemies of Reform. To such sort of churchmen 
these public meetings were peculiarly offensive; but 
being in those days held to be perfectly legal, these 
clerical worthies could not then, with any decent 
appearance, call in the military to disperse them. 

Such were the effects of our author's various, un- 
ceasing, and unwearied labours, in the cause of liberty 
and his country, that, about the year 1780, Newcastle, 
a town which had never been distinguished for any 
very warm attachment to the cause, had become a 
promising nursery of patriotic feeling. In that year, 
and in this state of things, the general election took 
place ; when our author, shocked and disgusted with 
the measures of the last parliament, and with the 



xii 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 



public conduct of the members for Newcastle, resolved 
to take proper precautions against their pursuing the 
same line of conduct in future. The candidates, on 
this occasion, for Newcastle, were, its old member, Sir 
Matthew White Ridley, — Andrew Robinson Bowes, of 
notorious memory,— and Sir Thomas Delaval. Our 
author prepared a test, to which these candidates were 
required to promise strict compliance ; — a pledge which 
Sk M. W. Ridley declined to give ; of which Bowes, 
by a peculiar taste in swearing, said, " he'd be darnnd 
if he gave any thing of the sort" and with which the 
unsuccessful candidate alone, Sir T. Delaval, would 
agree to comply. 

This election at Newcastle was rendered somewhat 
memorable by the appearance of Mr. John Scott (now 
Lord Chancellor Eldon) on the hustings, as a young 
blushing barrister, to promote, by wrangling and ban- 
ter, the interests of his amiable client, Andrew Robin- 
son Bowes. The contest was warm and protracted ; 
and though Corruption ultimately triumphed, our 
author's opinions had taken such deep root in the pub- 
lic mind, that from that day to this there has ever been 
a powerful party in Newcastle, the firm and zealous 
friends to the cause of liberty, civil and religious. 

From this time to the death of our author, though 
nothing could subdue his spirit, he had ever to con- 
tend with a disease, under which he had long laboured. 
It paralyzed his bodily activity, and, after a gradual 
decline, brought him in a few years to his grave. He 
was a man whose ability in defending truth and 
liberty was equalled by his zeal in the diffusion of a 
right knowledge of both ;— who had in his character 
little of the priest, and much of the philanthropist 



THE REV. JAMES MURRAY. 



xiii 



who made the doctrines of Christianity subservient, 
not to purposes of avarice or ambition, but to indivi- 
dual and general happiness, here as well as hereafter; — 
in short, a man who exemplified through life the salu- 
tary effects of those important truths which he so long 
and earnestly recommended to others in his preach- 
ings and writings. 

The present Volume contains the ablest pieces 
written by Mr. Murray, in defence of civil and religious 
liberty. In these he has successfully exposed and 
ridiculed its enemies with sarcastic irony, and the 
closest reasoning. They were very scarce, and are 
now for the first time collected and printed together. 
He also wrote — - 

The History of Religion; particularly of the principal Denomi~ 
nations of Christians, S?c. fyc. 4 vols. 8vo. The Second Edition, 
London, 1764. 

A History of the Churches in England and Scotland, from the 
Reformation to this present time. By a Clergyman. 3 vols. 8vo. 
Newcastle, 1771. 

Lectures upon the Book of the Revelation of John the Divine. 
2 vols, crown 8vo. Newcastle, 1778. 

An Essay on Redemption. 

The Lawfulness of Self Defence : an Evening Lecture, delivered 
in the High-Bridge Meeting, Newcastle. With an Address to the 
Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England. Dedicated to 
the Mayor of Newcastle, July 12, 1780. 

Sermons to Young Men and Women. 1 vol. 12mo. 

Lectures on the Lives of the Patriarchs. 2 vols. Sometimes 
quoted under the title of " Lectures on Genesis." 

History of the American War. 4 vols, in 8vo. 

Two Sermons for a Fast Day in the American War. 

These are the only publications of our author, 
respecting which any account can be obtained, 



CONTENTS. 



SERMONS TO ASSES. 

Dedication — To Messrs. George Whitfield, John Wesley, William 
Romaine, and Martin Madan. 

Preface. 

Sermon I. — Gen. xlix. 14. Issachar is a strong ass, couching 
down between two burdens. 
II. — Same text. 

III. — Numbers, xxii. 21 — 30. And Balaam rose up in the 

morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the 
princes of Moab.—And the ass said unto Balaam, 
Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden 
ever since I was thine ? 

IV. — Numbers, xxii. 30. Am not I thine ass, upon which 

thou hast ridden ever since I was thine ? 

V. — Additional Sermon. — Gen. xviii. 28. Andhesaid, 

If I find there forty and five, 1 will not destroy it. 

SERMONS TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 

Dedication — To Dr. Warburton, Bishop of Gloucester. 
Sermon I. — Matt, xxiii. 7. And love to be called of men, Rabbi. 

II. — Matt, xxiii. 8. But be not ye called Rabbi ; for one is 

your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. 

III. — The like text. 

IV. — The like text. 

V. — Matt, xxiii. 8. One is your Master, even Christ, and 

all ye are brethren. 

VI, — Isaiah, ii. 17—18. And the loftiness of men shall be 

bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be 
made low ; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in 
that day ; and the idols he shall utterly abolish. 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 

Dedication — To the Petitioners against the Dissenters' Bill. 
Sermon I. — Judges, iii. 22. And the dirt came out, 
11.— The like text. 

III. — The like text. 

IV. — The like text. 

V. — The like text. 
VI.— The like text. 

Mil.— The like text. 



LECTURES TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 
Dedication — Ad Dominos Spirituals. 

Lecture I. — Matt, xxiii. 4. For they bind heavy burdens, and 
grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoul- 
ders ; but they themselves will not move them with 
one of their fingers. 
ll.—The like text. 

III. —The like text. 

IV. — I. Tim. iii. 2 — 3. A Bishop must be blameless, apt to 

teach, not greedy of filthy lucre, not covetous, Sfc. 
V. — The like text. 

VI. — A Bishop must be blameless, given to hospitality, apt 
to teach, not greedy of filthy lucre, not covetous. 
VII. — Numbers, xviii. 24. But the tythes of the children of 
Israel, which they offer as an heave-offering unto 
the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit ; 
therefore I have said unto them, Among the children 
of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 
VIII. — Eccles. xii. 14. For God will bring every work int& 
judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be 
good, or whether it be evil. 

IX. — II. Kings, xviii. 27. And it came to pass at noon, that 
Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud, for he is 
a god: either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he 
is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and 
must be awaked. 



CONTENTS. 



SERMONS TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 

Dedication — To Lord North, one of His Majesty's Secretaries of 
State. 

Sermon I. — Mark, xvi. 15. And he said unto them, Go ye into all 
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 
II. — Mark, xvi. 15. Preach the gospel to every creature. — 
Hv that believeth, shall he saved; and he that believ- 
eth not, shall be damned. 

III. — Mark, xvi. 15. Preach the gospel to every creature. 

IV. — The like text. 

V. — James, iv. 1. From whence come wars and fightings, 
among you? come they not from your lusts? 

VI. — The like text. 

VII. — Esther, iii. 2. And all the king's servants bowed to 

II am an ; but Mordecai bowed not, nor did him 
reverence. 

VIII.— I. Kings, xii. 18. Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, 
who was over the treasury, and all Israel stoned him 
with stones, till he died. 
IX. — II. Sam. xxiv. 14. And David said, I am in a great 
strait: let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for 
his mercies are great ; and let me not fall into the 
hands of men. 

X. — II. Chron. iv. 2. And Asa cried unto the Lord his 
God, and said, O Lord, it is nothing with thee to 
help with many, or with them that have no power : 
help us, O Lord our God, for we rest in thee, and in 
thy name go against this multitude. So the Lord 
smote the ^Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah^ 
and the Ethiopians fled* 



SERMONS 

TO 

ASSES, 



f f A Nation of Slaves is a Kingdom of Asses." — Sermon I, 




A NEW EDITION. 



JLonSon x 

PRINTED BY AND FOR W. HONE, 67, OLD BAILEY, 

THREE DOORS FROM LUDGATE HILL. 



1817, 



Dedication. 



TO THE VERY EXCELLENT AND REVEREND 

Messrs. G W. J. W. W. R. & M. M. 

are no persons in Britain so worthy of a dedication of 
a ivork of this kind as yourselves. Some of you have preached 
for many years to the members of the congregation ' that these Ser- 
mons are designed for; — dud all of you, as far as your influence 
can reach, wish well to asses. 

If I have offended your excellencies by encroaching upon your 
employment, it is fit I should beg your pardon, or make some 
apology. But, as I once heard one of yourselves say, in a sermon, 
that there were plenty of work for you, and many more in that 
way, I hope you will not be offended at receiving a little assistance 
from one who means well to your congregations. Hoping you will 
recommend these Sermons to your numerous acquaintances and 
friends, 

I am, 

Your most humble Servant^ 

THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 

JT is usual for Preachers, when they publish Sermons, to assign reasons 
why they do so. The desire of friends, and the request of better 
judges, are often given for reasons of publication. The author of these 
Sermons does not pretend to any of these reasons ; yet he conceives he 
lias sufficient reasons for printing his Sermons. The audience to whom 
he intends to be useful is far too large for any human voice to extend 
to them all; anci as he could not speak to them all, so as to make them 
heur, he made choice of this method to communicate his thoughts. 

When a person is disposed to preach a sermon or two for the edifica- 
tion of any of God's creatures, he is under great difficulties to find a 
proper subject to discourse upon. Almost every character has been, 
described in some sermon or lecture ; and there is not a power of the 
mind, nor a member of the body, but has been preached and lectured 
thread-bare. There are now Sermons to Young Men, and Sermons to 
Young Women; Lectures on Heads, and Lectures on Hearts. Almost 
every subject is exhausted and sermonized to death, 

B The 



PREFACE. 



The author does not remember to have seen any sermons upon the 
subject he has made choice of, nor heard any preached professedly to his 
audience. The Reverend Messrs. G. W. J. W. W. R. and M.M. will 
perhaps be offended at the author, for interfering in their employment* 
and preaching to their congregations. But this much the author may 
say for himself, that he has not preached after their manner ; and, to 
make them some satisfaction, has given them the honour of a dedi- 
cation. 

Every preacher has a right to preach as he pleaseth to such as are 
disposed to hear him, and in what manner he has a mind, for the ends 
of edification ; and if he cannot be so happy as to please his audience, 
he should take care not to displease himself. 

Sermons to Asses may appear strange to such as have lately read Ser- 
mons to Young Women ; but they ought to consider, that something is 
even due to asses. We read of the ass-kind preaching to mankind ; and 
why may not men preach to asses ? 

Some grave persons in black will perhaps say, this is an insult upon 
mankind, and a reflection upon gentlemen in holy orders. The author 
can only say, he has followed the example of the patriarch Jacob, who 
preached to asses. 

There is some reason to suspect that the preachers will censure these 
Sermons, for wanting some things that ought to be in them ; and, likely, 
for not wanting some things they contain. But, as there is no perfec- 
tion in this life, the reader must take them as they are. There should 
have been two volumes of them, for the sake of form, as this has be- 
come the customary way of publishing : but it was thought convenient 
to postpone one, t ill such time as it should appear how the first was re- 
ceived. These Sermons should have been dedicated to the A — b — s, 

B — *-s, and their C y, in hopes that they would have recommended 

them to public notice; but the author was afraid of offending their 
modesty w ith the flattery of a dedication, and for that reason altered 
his design. 

The author has deferred setting his name to these discourses till the 
twentieth edition, when he may perhaps find D.D. to fix to them, like 
other authors. 

If the clergy, or others, think it improper to preach to asses, the au- 
thor may perhaps publish Sermons to Doctors in Divinity, where he 
shall have more regard to method, and the rules of composing sermons. 
Every preacher ought to consider the qualifications of his audience, and 
preach accordingly. Though there may be some things that mav seem 
a little ludicrous in these Sermons, the reader will find also some 
serious things deserving his notice. Thus much the preacher can say 
for himself, that he was very well pleased when he preached them, and 
had not the least ill-will at any of the human race. This is at least a 
negative qualification, which some preachers are not endowed wftfr. 
Endowed with, said I ? they cannot be endowed with what is negative. 
Call it any thing you please, for I have done. 



SERMONS TO ASSES. 



SERMON L 
Gen. xlix. 14. 

Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens, 

r T y RE language of the Old Testament is peculiarly suited for 
drawing characters in few words. It is usual in the Hebrew 
language to draw the image of a multitude in a single character. 
We find it very usual by the figure of a beast to point out the 
image of a people ; — and there is always some resemblance be- 
tween the sign and the -thing signified. It is needless to go far 
for examples,, — there is one in the text, " Issachar is a strong 
ass" &c. Truly he had much need of strength, for he has two 
burdens. 

The tribe of Issachar were an inactive, slothful, and sluggish 
people : they loved rest more than liberty, and chose to be slaves, 
rather than exert themselves, and assert their privileges. There 
was a reason for it: Issachar saw that the land was good, and rest 
pleasant for him,^-agreeable to his slothful and sluggish disposi- 
tion. Serf-interest prevailed more with him than public welfare 
and national happiness. There are many such asses as Issachar, 
that prefer present ease and advantage to public liberty and na- 
tional freedom. Our text is a prophecy in the present tense, 
which is usual in Hebrew writings. Jacob, in his last words, fore- 
tells the character of the tribe of Issachar. I need not tell my 
readers any more concerning the object of this prediction, than 
that it respected a whole tribe of the children of Israel. It was 
too well verified in their after behavioui\ 

Jacob, I think, is the first mentioned in Scripture that preached 
to asses, but many have been thus employed since his time. This 
is a shameful monosyllable, when applied to reasonable crea- 
tures. Men endowed with reason and understanding to dege- 
nerate so basely! What a falling off is here? Issachar was a 
pretty numerous tribe, fifty-four thousand and four hundred; — 
far too many to be so mean-spirited. They wanted not strength, 
but spirit. Many good gifts are ill bestowed. Strength without 
activity but debases human nature. A nation of slaves is a king- 
dom of asses. It is dishonourable rest, and disgraceful pleasure, 
that is established upon the ruin of common weal. Rest is good, 
but liberty is better. What was I saying ? — Rest without liberty- 
is bondage and slavery. 

What 



4 



SERMON I. 



What can these burdens mean, that Issachar couched down so 
decently under? They were perhaps civil and religious slavery. 
Strange! that such a number of rational creatures should sq 
tamely bear such two insupportable burdens. I had almost for- 
got that they were asses: — no people of any spirit could endure 
such grievous bondage without complaining. Bur who need 
wonder at Issachar's mean-spirited condition ? All Europe, yea, 
the greatest part of the world, have couched down between the two, 
burdens of civil and religious oppression. 

The Jews in the days of Jesus Christ were become a sort of 
tame asses ;-*-they couched down, till the Priests laid on their 
burden on the one side, and the Romans laid on their's on the 
other. This is at best a slovenly character; I wish it were gone 
out of the world. In Scripture an ass is contrasted with a horse, 
which is a generous animal; — it is tractable, but not abject. 
Obedience to just laws, and subjection to slavery, are two very diffe- 
rent things: the first characterizes a people wise and good; ike 
latter, base, mean-spirited, and servile. 

It is understanding that makes men good subjects, but igno- 
rance makes them slaves. //' men through ignorance degenerate 
to asses, they will always find some ready to fix a burden upon 
them. Perhaps I shall give offence by repeating this disagreeable 
epithet: I shall lay it aside, and? instead of the sign, pursue the 
thing signified. 

The original word signifies an ass of bone, which denotes 
strength, but implies leanness. Truly, all slaves are, generally 
speaking, lean; — all who have not the enjoyment of liberty are 
poor, both in a political and moral sense. There is not a word 
of Issachar's motion in the text: he seems to have been strong, 
but not swift;— like all people under slavery, npt fit for business. 
He loved rest and ease, and could not be rich. It is the hand of 
the diligent, not the strong, that maketh rich. There is never a 
brisk trade but among a free people ; for although slaves may be 
able to work for riches, yet they know not how to use them. 
Wealth does not consist in specie, but a right circulation: 
slaves are indifferent how it is. They have not a true sense of 
property, nor just aotions of right, and therefore want the springs 
of action, which only can keef) reasonable creatures in true 
rnotion. 

It is wonderful what custom will do. It is called a second 
nature, and justly: through long use and habit men will stoop 
to take on their own burdens. Issachar stooped down ; well did 
he deserve a heavy burden for his meanness of spirit. It is soon 
enough to submit to bondage when we cannot help it. Slavery 
is a just reward to such as voluntarily give up their natural 
rights and privileges: such as do notvalue freedom and liberty de- 
serve to be slaves. It is finding fault with the conduct of the 
Almighty to give up his prerogative to his creatures. Such as. 
Tpluntarily give up their rights and privileges given them by 



TO ASSES, 



5 



their Maker, and submit to any human yoke, are next to atheists. 
Men are not at liberty to give up their trust till Providence re- 
quire it. Our first parents ruined themselves by submitting to a 
new master. When men are conquered, and forced to submit, 
it is no crime, but a call of Providence; but when for private in- 
terest they give up the public welfare, they shew themselves un- 
worthy of the protection of Heaven, by rejecting its government. 

Time was when there were many of Issachar's character in. 
these our native lands. But, thanks to heaven! that generation is 
well nigh dead. About a century ago vast numbers of Britisli 
subjects were couching down between two burdens of civil and 
religious oppression. The far greatest part qf the inhabitants 
of Britain were loaden, and pressed down with these two heavy 
burdens. 

It is amazing to think how creatures of the same frame and 
constitution, endowed with the same powers and capacities, 
should become so submissively the slaves of others. We are all 
naturally free ; our sphere in society may require subordination 
of individuals, but cannot oblige men to part with their natural 
rights; obedience must be an act of the will. In a land of 
slavery, where Princes are arbitrary, and Kings have absolute 
power, there is but one public will in a whole nation, — at least it 
is a mere chance if many agree with the legislator. The prince 
js mightily deceived if he thinks the subjects obey him ; for 
there is no true obedience, but what proceeds from the heart. 
Issachars burden is hinted at in the following verse:, " Hebecame 
a servant to tribute." He was made subject to civil oppression. 
It did not happen all at once. The mind will remonstrate 
against bondage till the passions soothe her asleep; it is a work 
of time to make men perfect slaves; and it is ordinarily some 
leading passion, or two, that make them so. Love of ease, and 
love of pleasure, have brought many thousands into slavery. 

When all the passions are engaged in pursuing their various 
and proper objects, according as nature directs and requires, it 
will be a miracle if men do not jostle themselves clear of their 
burdens. Nations that do not look farther than their own boun- 
daries, and their original district, will in time turn slaves. And 
suppose they should go abroad, to pursue trade and business, 
unless it be with a design to bring something home, they will 
remain the same people. There have been many that have made 
emigrations yet have carried slavery along with them. Those 
who look abroad for trade, to bring home riches to their native 
country, will most likely pursue the ends of true liberty. Tlrey 
go not to other countries to take possession of their lands, but 
to bring home their riches by fajr trade and business. Such as 
have a sense of some property in their own country will seek the 
welfare of it at home or abroad ;^-and when they by diligence 
and industry make their fortunes, they will endeavour to bring it 
liome to add to the public interest. 

These 



6 SERMON I. 

These two burdens, civil and religious oppression, hold all na* 
lions in bondage where they prevail ; — these are laid on by the 
power ot Princes, and the power of Priests. In some nations the 
Prince and the Clergy act in concert to fix the burden upon the 
people: slavery there seems one connected load of hondage. Ma- 
liumed ism seems a burden of this sort. Religion among the Ma- 
fo.umedans is an engine of state policy. However, this burden 
seems to be compounded of two parts; idolatry, and civil op?- 
pressicn: no man can say he has any property. In Popish coun- 
tries the case is much the same; there is only this difference — -the 
Magistrate lays on the one burden, and the Priests lay on the 
other, a ;d they may properly be said to be two, because they 
respect two different policies: — the Magistrate has also a burden 
laid upon him by the Priests by church authority. 

In case the King should not be so tractable as they would re- 
quire, they were wont to have a method to make him bear his 
burden patiently. They used him as Balaam did his ass; bela- 
boured him with church censures, and threatened him with 
deprivation. But of later times Princes have become so obsti- 
nate, that they have bruised the Pope's foot against the wall, 
and almost kicked him off; for he had always the assurance, 
when he laid on a burden, to get upon the top of it. Soon may 
all the Kings of Europe see their own interest, and totally reject 
bis authority. The common people are, notwithstanding, still 
oppressed with two burdens. The Prince lays upon them a 
burden of taxes at his pleasure, and the Clergy fix another, to 
make it balance fairly. And they are so much of Issachar's 
character, that they voluntarily stoop, and take on their burdens. 

In the burden of civil oppression is contained 60 much as the 
Prince hath need of for all the purposes of his pride and ambi- 
tion: — -and if it be the same in all countries where arbitrary go- 
vernment prevails, this burden will comprehend item for all things 
that a man possessetm This was once the burden of Britain, 
during the unhappy reign of the Stuarts : it contained in it several 
articles, such as tonnage and poundage, licence to dress meat, 
patent for soap, cards and dice, and pins, &c. This burden was 
fixed upon the subjects by the royal prerogative; it was increased 
and alleviated according to his Majesty's gracious pleasure. This 
was a very grievous burden, for it extended to all the necessa- 
ries of life. A Christian could not call his head his own, without 
paying for it; nor durst any subject suffer the smoke of his 
chimney to ascend towards heaven, without paying a modus to 
the King for that privilege. The King of Britain was then the 
Prince of the power of the air, as well as King of Britain and 
and Ireland. If all nations where the Prince is arbitrary have 
such a burden imposed upon them, they had need of much 
strength and patience. 

In those nations where Popery prevails, there is a burden, of* 
religious slavery laid upon the people by the Priests: this consists 

of 



TO ASSES. | 

of item for all things in heaven and earth, — together with a severe 
restraint upon the consciences of men, not to think or act con- 
trary to the judgment 'of the church. This burden contains 
several parcels of very ponderous goods; such as the canons of 
the church, the decrees of councils, the infallibility of the Bishop 
of Rome: all these men must receive, however absurd they may 
appear to them, upon the pain of purgatory or hell-torments for 
ever. In a word, every man in that communion must believe 
almost every thing but the Scriptures, which are indeed entirely 
excluded from this heavy burden. 

In case any who have these burdens laid upon them prove any- 
way refractory or perverse, they are put in mind of their duty 
by very powerful arguments. The holy office of the inquisition* 
have several spurs for such perverse asses as will not bear their 
burdens with patience. They may kick and spurn as they will, 
but they may as well think of bringing Rome to London, as 
think to get clear of their burdens. As in England there are 
schools for training horses to learn them their exercise, so they 
have schools for training such asses as they conceive do not bear 
their burdens with patience — dungeons, where neither light or 
sunshine ever enter, the very picture of the mansions of the 
dead : tortures, which furies in council only could contrive, are 
here the sad monitors of obedience to miserable mortals. Strange, 
that nothing else could be contrived to convince the consciences 
of men, but what is fit for the most stubborn and sluggish of 
animals! Can bodily torture convince the mind? Can hunger 
and pain give evidence to absurdity, and confinement reconcile 
contradictions? Kind Jesus, this was never thy contrivance; 
whose law is love, whose conduct is all mercy. How can king* 
doms bear such a yoke? How can millions of reasonable crea- 
tures submit to such unreasonable slavery? It must have cost 
much time and pains thus to have deprived men of their sense 
and reason. The human mind must be capable of sad depra- 
vity, to submit to such abject bondage and slavery, Can it be 
natural to men thus to degenerate into a state of brutal stupefac- 
tion? So many millions of rational beings, endowed with moral 
capacities, having all the full exercise of the corporeal functions, 
to submit to be treated like brutes; what a shocking considera- 
tion! Could not these nations free themselves, by making use 
of those powers the Author of Nature hath endowed them with? 
They have lost their guide, and are destitute of a leader. Reason, 
that guide of mankind, is enslaved, and held captive by enthu- 
siasm and servile superstition. But is there not some original 
cause why men degenerate so far below themselves ? Can perfect 
nature relapse so far into barbarity? If all the principles are 
pure, what is the reason of such a departure from rationality? 
There is a cause; reason is duped by the passions ;-*-those who 
liave address enough to command the one, will also overcome 
the other when men's eyes are put out, they grope in the 

dark. 



SERMON h 



dark. Heaven send the light of the Gospel to open the eyes of 
such blinded mortals, that they may see their own interest, and 
assert their own privileges. What can induce men in sacred 
offices thus to play the devil with their feliow-creatures ? Inte- 
rest, sordid self-interest, is the cause. Long hath this principle 
been the ruling one in the hearts of the clergy of the church of 
Rome : instead of pointing out the way of righteousness to men, 
and teaching them the way of salvation, they have long treated 
them like asses, and kept them in ignorance. Who gave them 
that right? Are not all men equally free? Hath not God 
made of one blood all the kindreds of the earth ? But thought- 
less mortals give up their privileges through indolence and inac- 
tivity. What can men do without instruction? We are all 
infants before we be men ;— instruction is necessary to make us 
wise. Suffer men to follow the first bent of their inclinations, 
and it will be a miracle if they do well. But nature is not suf- 
fered to take her own way; for if there be none to instruct us, 
there will be hundreds ready to seduce us: bad as men are, they 
would not be so ill if they were not seduced. Shall parents 
neglect to instruct us in the rudiments of true wisdom, and not 
provide tutors to conduct us in the paths of knowledge, the 
world and designing men will not neglect to make their own of 
us, to the ruin of both soul and body. 

Where men are no sooner out of the hands of their nurses than 
they fall into the hands of priests, whose leading maxim is, that 
ignorance is the mother of devotion, how can they understand 
their own interest? The first who gave up their privileges, by 
neglecting to follow after true knowledge, justly deserved to 
bear a heavy burden; — but what shall be said of their unfortu- 
nate children, who, through their negligence and inactivity, 
are trained up in ignorance, and know not how to deliver them- 
selves? Could not the dictates of nature have directed them 
otherwise? Could not the law of the heart have admonished 
them against such absurd seduction? Alas! men are capable 
of being instructed, but cannot learn without teaching. But how 
shall we vindicate the conduct of Providence towards the many 
thousands of them that sit in darkness ? Why should children 
suffer for the iniquity of their fathers? Could not the Almighty 
have sent them the means of knowledge, as a compensation for 
their father's deficiency? He could, no doubt. 

But what, if we shall affirm, that this judgment upon several 
generations of misled and wretched mortals has been suffered to 
continue, because they abused the dictates of common sense? 
We read of a people that loved to be seduced : " The prophets 
prophesy for a reward, and the people love to have it so." Justly 
do they deserve slavery who choctee it. 

When men are instructed in principles of true or false know- 
ledge, it must be by either the use or abuse of their senses: false 
teachers cannot even, lead men wrong, without in some measure 

dealing 



TO ASSES. 

dealing with their sensations. Sensation is naturally ingrafted 
in our'nature; our feelings are the workmanship of our Creator. 
In matters of speculation it may be easy to lead us astray; and 
as to what things are not the objects of our senses, it may not be 
difficult to impose upon us: but to believe absurdity, in matters 
our senses are judges of, must be choosing our own delusions. 
Suppose, through our ignorance of testimony, men may mislead 
us, yet in what comes under the notice of our senses they cannot, 
unless we p-lease. The senses of the clown are generally as quick 
as those of the philosopher, and it requires no more but to use 
them, as to those things that are their objects, to keep clear of 
seduction. Though every man is not able to judge of the ortho- 
doxy of a creed, and the truth of the canons of the church, yet 
they are able, by the exercise of their senses, to know that bread 
. is not flesh, nor wine blood; and that the same body cannot be 
in a thousand places at the same time. When men thus depart 
from common sense, which their Maker has endowed them with, 
it is but just to deprive them of other advantages, which there 
is a likelihood they would give up through indolence, as they do 
their senses. The Almighty knows what use men would make 
of better enjoyments; and when he tries them with common 
mercies, which they abuse, he vindicates his providence in with- 
holding others of higher value, as a punishment of their crime 
for abusing what he hath bestowed. " He that is faithful in 
little will he faithful also in that which is greater' 1 

Such as are endowed with common sense, and depart from it, 
or give it up, but ill deserve to be entrusted with the sublimest 
truths of religion. What! common sense is the foundation of 
religion. Such as depart from, or are destitute of it, could not 
really be truly religious. When we consider the situation of 
many deluded nations and people, we cannot but pity them, but 
at the same time cannot hold them guiltless for giving up their 
senses. Such as have had the happiness of enjoying better 
instruction than others who remain in ignorance, upon a little 
reflection may find they have nothing to boast of. The inhabit- 
ants of Italy and Spain are not the only people who receive 
absurdities. In a land where freedom is the privilege and 
boast of almost every subject, we may perhaps find a tame 
enough submission to several absurdities. 

Not, you will say, in Britain, — a land renowned for all sorts of 
liberty, — a nation to which there is none equal upon the face of 
the earth, that we know of. We have reason indeed to be thank- 
ful to the Almighty for the liberty we enjoy: but Britain is only 
comparatively free. It matters not whether men become slaves or 
are made so, if they are really in bondage; Issachar couchtd dawn, 
and became a slave. To the charge of our Sovereign nothing 
can be laid that tends to affect our liberties. But perhaps there 
is yet something in our laws that fixes a burden upon several of 
the subjects. Is a man entirely fre-e, who is subjected to losses 

C and 



10 



SERMON I. 



and disappointments by the laws of his country on account of 
his religion? Is he altogether a free subject, who is faithful to 
civil government, and whose principles teach him to be so, and 
yet is deprived of some of its advantages on account of his 
method of worshipping God? Is he free of a burden, who must 
either submit to a test act, contrary to the dictates of his own 
conscience, or lose a privilege that may redound to the welfare 
of his country? 

It is easy for such as have enlarged consciences to call this no 
hardship, and such as love to make a monopoly of privileges to 
say he may let it alone: but where then is our much boasted-of 
liberty, when it only consists in negatives of this kind? Even 
this is not always the case. Shall a good subject refuse the calls 
of his King and his Country in the time of danger, to help them 
out of difficulty? On the one hand he might be reckoned dis- 
affected, and on the other he could not miss to be unconscientious. 
Here the laws of his country lay him under bondage, and bring 
him into a grievous dilemma. A burden this is undoubtedly, 
however light it may seem to such as are not immediately con- 
cerned. Can such slavery be necessary to make faithful subjects, 
and good members of society? Or do not such restrictions tend 
to fill places of power and influence with men of no principle? 
Strange, that men cannot be supposed faithful, just, and good, 
unless they kneel down before an altar, and communicate in a 
way their consciences remonstrate against. Is not this something 
like laying a snare for our brethren ? There is certainly no rea- 
son to suspect the loyalty of all those who scruple to commu- 
nicate with the Church of England; nor is such a compliance 
any evidence of a true member of society, or a good subject. 
There is even reason to suppose, that persons who have been 
otherwise educated do not act sincerely in such a compliance: 
at least it is a great snare to their honesty. Can the kingdom of 
Jesus Christ be so dependent upon the kingdoms of this world, 
as that it cannot subsist, if any be admitted to civil preferment 
without giving security for their behaviour towards it? In what 
part of the New Testament do we find this alliance between 
church and state founded, so that a man cannot be found qualified 
for any office in the one, without first becoming a member of the 
other? It is but reasonable to have some New Testament warrant 
for a matter of so great importance. Arguments taken from 
convenience, and the alteration of circumstances, will not bear 
any weight with a sincere conscience, till once it is made good, 
that the alteration of the kingdoms of this world make a change 
in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 

It has been often affirmed, that our circumstances are much 
altered since the times of Christ and his Apostles, which is an 
undoubted truth; but this does not, I hope, infer that the laws of 
Christ's kingdom have undergone any alteration. There have 
been many great alterations since the Magna Charta of England 

was 



TO ASSES, 



11 



was granted, and yet it is allowed to be the foundation of our 
civil privileges, and continues unaltered. And if it be true what 
I have often beard, the constitution would be destroyed if this 
was taken away. The New Testament is the Magna Char-ta of 
the Church, which is the kingdom of Jesus Christ; if once we 
make encroachments upon it, then the liberties of the church are 
at an end. In Scripture account, adding or diminishing are 
equally destructive of privilege. I think, before any additions 
are made to the laws and rules Jesus Christ and his Apostles 
have given to the Christian church, they should be proved first 
defective and insufficient ; and before any thing is taken from these 
Jaws, they ought to be made appear to he redundant. If either of 
these can be made evident, the divinity of the Scripture will be at 
an end, and there will be no gospel church at all. There has been 
of late times much noise about the increase and spreading of 
infidelity, and none have made more noise concerning it than 
those who have been the cause of it. When fathers in councils, 
and bishops in convocation, have made so free with the Scrip- 
tures, as to add to the worship of God so many decent things 
that never were appointed by Christ or his Apostles in the New 
Testament, and at the same time attempt to prove the necessity 
of these additaments, the inference from this is very easy and 
plain, that the Scriptures are not perfect in things belonging 
•to Christian duty. If once men begin to add any one thing that 
is not specified in the word of God, who can tell where the end 
may be? Hath the Spirit of God been so exact in all things per- 
taining to faith and practice among Christians, and yet been de- 
ficient as to what is decent and comely in the worship of God 
and the ceremonies of the church? What a severe reflection is 
this upon the Holy Spirit of the Most High? What rude and 
unpolished mortals have the Apostles of Jesus Christ been, to 
have no rules of decency in their worship of the Almighty? 
Strange, that they should have been so exact in all other matters 
of importance pertaining to the church of God, and so much de- 
ficient in comely order and decency? Though they were illite- 
rate fishermen, and not bred like our modern clergy, yet the 
Holy Spirit that inspired them certainly knew what was decent 
and orderly; at least, he knew better what would please God 
than all the councils and convocations that ever existed. 

It is no hard matter to account for the growth of infidelity. 
When those who have assumed sacred functions have made free 
to alter and add at their pleasure, in things pertaining to religion; 
what could such as were inquiring, and not yet settled in their 
principles, infer, but that there was nothing certain in Divine re- 
velation? Is it not to use men like asses, to tell them they have 
a complete revelation of the will of God in the Scriptures, and 
yet impose many things upon them that are not mentioned there- 
in ? To say, that the word of God is plain and perfect in all 
things pertaining to godliness, and yet allege, that it cannot 

sufficiently 



12 



SERMON I. 



sufficiently direct us into truth, and guard us against error, unless 
it is set forth by so many divines in thirty-nine articles, or thirty- 
three chapters, sounds something like a contradiction. Much 
need have men to be strong in faith, that are thus required to be- 
lieve without evidence. Rome hath gone far in the practice of 
absurdities, but she never required any other foundation but im- 
plicit faith to build them upon. What is not manifestly evident 
from the word of God to every man that is required to give his 
assent, can never be an article of his faith: he may be so com- 
plaisant as to believe as the church doth in his words and public 
confession, but is an infidel at heart notwithstanding. But why 
should men be led into temptation thus to prevaricate before 
God? Were there open access to church offices and prefer- 
ments, to such as professed to believe the Scriptures, and were 
found qualified, some might still be infidels, but the church would 
have no hand in making them so ; and there is the greatest rea- 
son to believe, that infidelity could never be built upon the doc- 
trine of the Prophets and Apostles, where " Jesus Christ is the 
chief corner-stone." The purity of the sacred oracles, when im- 
mediately presented to the conscience, is more likely to prevent 
prevarication, than these compositions, where there is some rea- 
son to doubt there may be some mistake. 

So long as the pure oracles of God were the only creed of the 
church, we find her members more simple and sincere than ever 
they have been since : but as soon as the doctrine of Revelation be- 
gan to be clothed in a human dress, it did not strike the mind with 
such reverence and godly fear; afterwards men made more free 
with sin, and began to find church authority for committing it, 
till at last they could produce indulgences for almost any kind 
of wickedness. What influence could articles of religion framed 
by such men have, who, when they were forming canons for the 
church, were forming also licences for all kinds of immorality? 
Even in England, it is not difficult to find the same authority that 
authorized the Book of Canons authorizing the Book of Sports, 
whereby a licence was given for any who pleased to profane the 
Lord's Day, to the dishonour of all religion whatsoever. Could 
any person who had the least consideration reconcile two things 
absolutely contrary to each other, viz. articles of religion, and a 
licence to break them in their constant practice? 

It would have been next to a miracle, if infidelity had not 
gained ground, when it received such strength and support from 
the leaders in religion. Out of the same mouths could not con- 
sistently come both blessing and cursing; laws for religion, and 
a licence for impiety. Can any people be accounted of any other 
character but that of Issachar in the text, who suffer such reli- 
gious slavery and absurdity to be imposed upon them? Is the 
word of God imperfect, that it cannot direct men in all matters 
of religion, without it be clothed with human inventions, and the 
authority of the church? He is a Christian that submits to the 



TO ASSES. 



13 



yoke of Christ, but a slave that takes on any other. Shall men 
pretend to impose any other burdens than the easy and light bur- 
den Christ hath required ? Let us be Christians, and not slaves ; 
not couch down, like Issaehar, between two burdens, but stand fast 
in that liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and not suffer 
ourselves to be entangled in any yoke of bondage. 

To come to a conclusion : — Let it be observed, whenever men 
are required to believe any thing upon human authority in matters 
of religion, or to worship God in any other manner than they are 
plainly required in Scripture, it is a burden of religious slavery, 
and not the yoke of Christ. They do not deserve the character 
of rational creatures, to say nothing of the Christian character, 
who tamely give up their reason, and their Bible, to the hands of 
religious oppressors. Well do they deserve to bear a burden of 
religious slavery, who do so tamely couch down and take it on. 
We shall soon have heavy enough burdens imposed upon us, if 
we so submissively couch down to them: if men but enjoy the 
exercise of common sense, they will never meanly give up their right 
of private judgment to the will of oppressors. Ye who, like 
Issaehar, for the love of ease, or the love of pleasure, or for the 
r gratification of some sordid passion, submit to burdens as un- 
natural as they are unreasonable, be not offended if your charac- 
ter be drawn after the manner of that of his. Asses, and worse 
than asses, surely you are, who either give up the cause of your 
country, or the rights of your own consciences, to civil or religious 
dominators. The character of Napthali,how different from that of 
bis brothe: ? " Napthali is a hind let loose" — an assertor of liberty. 
" Issaehar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens." 
God give all men the knowledge of their privileges, and a spirit 
of true zeal to maintain them. Amen. 



SERMON II. 

Gen. xlix. 14. 

Issaehar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens. 

'VJLTELL may they press him down, and sit hard upon his shoul- 
* * ders, till he learn his own interest, and throw them off. I 
wish, Issaehar, thy children had all died in the first generation; 
but thou hast yet a numerous offspring in the world: many are 
the beasts of burden, even in Christian nations. Thy sons, Issaehar, 
are in the church and in the state: from the minions of prime 
ministers down to the lowest journeyman of the bishops and 
clergy, thy offspring are scattered abroad. Thy seed fills the 
houses of nobles, knights, and esquires; some of them eat at 
their tables, and others serve behind them. There is scarce au 

office 



14. 



SERMON II. 



office in the church, or under the crown, but some of thy progeny 
are in possession thereof in all countries. Court and convocation, 
the church and the theatre, are crowded with thy descendants: 
from the cathedral down to the smallest dissenting congregation, 
some of thy sons are in place. In all places of public eon. ourse, 
the sons of Issachar make a large party. Whoever snail attend 
any place of public concourse shall find a great number of thy 
descendants : so stupid and thoughtless are men turned, that they 
every day bring themselves under burdens which they might 
easily prevent. 

There are many burdens fixed upon us by the stupidity of former 
generations, that even those who would cannot so easily get clear 
of them in our times. Heaven grant help to such as are forced to 
any piece of slavery against their inclination, and speedily give 
them deliverance. We live under a government where grievances 
will be considered, if faithfully represented; and it is surely our 
own fault if we bear burdens. The burden is often heavy, and the 
cry loud ; but proper means of redress are seldom pursued. It is to 
be feared, we are not yet prepared for deliverance; for we do not 
apply for it earnestly, nor make use of proper means: we groan 
like asses, but do not bestir ourselves. 

I shall consider some grievous burdens that several of this free 
nation bear, which are very unreasonable ; and consider a method 
to have them removed. 

1. There is a burden of taxes upon the poor, which they are 
not able to bear. It needs no proof, for it is sufficiently felt, 
that many of the necessaries of life pay very heavy duties. It 
may be, for any thing I know, necessary for tfie paying of public 
expenct s, that the subjects are so burdened > but there ought cer- 
tainly some regard to be had to the strength of the beasts of bur- 
den. All asses are not equally strong- They should be burdened 
according to their strength and abilities. Meat, drink, and cloth- 
ing, should be made as easy as possible; things without which 
we cannot live ought to be gently taxed. The poor cannot well 
live with less necessary food than the rich; neither can they go 
naked. There must be some reasons why they do not enjoy the 
necessaries of life according to their needs. The very shoes of 
their feet are taxed. They enjoy no light, but what pays duty to 
the government. I may be mistaken; for perhaps they pay for 
their windows and candles, but not for the light of them. But 
the window, the candle, and the light, are so nearly related, that 
in many cases we cannot well separate them. But whatever may 
be the theory of these things, there are none but feel them in 
prat l i<~e. There are several things which might bear duty better 
than :s^ by which the poor live. Let all the superfluities of 
life pay : but v;hy oppress the poor? Even asses deserve pity : " a 
mercif ul man is merciful towards his beast." There is no reasoning 
against power, where there is no law to restrain it; but as we 
have laws securing our privileges, why should any subjects be 

oppressed ? 



TO ASSES, 



n 



oppressed? We may certainly complain with safety, even sup- 
pose we should not immediately receive redress. One would 
readily suppose that there should be some proportion between 
the burdens laid upon the poor, and the dearness of the necessary 
provisions, and the quantity of current specie : one of these 
should certainly take place, either to have taxes lessened, pro- 
visions cheaper, or money more plenty. As to the theory of 
these matters, or how they may be balanced in the economy of a 
prime minister, that is not my province to say ; but I think every 
subject may say, when he is oppressed, he is not free. When 
men are doing their utmost endeavours to serve their king and 
country, it is hard they should not be able to live, when the 
quantity of provisions in the kingdom are far from being scarce. 
When demands are made upon the lower part of mankind 
for the ordinary rate of duty imposed upon them by the go- 
vernment, they are obliged to pay, or be distressed; but they 
cannot either raise their wages, or lower the prices of provisions* 
If they complain, they are not heard; if they resist, they are be- 
laboured like asses; or if, through hunger and want, they should 
be compelled to rise up to relieve themselves, then they must wait 
the issue of a trial in some court of justice, where the consequences 
are very visibly repretented in some late cases*. Merciful Lord! 
would any people rise in mobs to disturb a peaceable nation, if they 
could help it, who have been soready in time of war to venture their 
lives for its safety f Nay, it is pinching hunger that is the cause of 
it. Some few there may be, that may join in riots without a 
cause; but the subjects of Britain love their King and Country 
too dearly to disturb t heir peace. Reasonable duty all good sub- 
jects will be disposed to pay; but when the weight lies upon 
the poor, where is the reasonableness of the tax? It is no reflec- 
tion upon the King, that the poor are oppressed, for he does not 
make the laws : the subjects oppress one another. They are like 
the fishes of the sea, the great devour the small;*- only with this 
difference, that we are devoured by law. 

I have not mentioned the names and number of that burden of 
taxes with which we are oppressed, for they are well known. 
The very paper I am writing upon has not escaped the ex- 
cise. This may perhaps be reasonable ; for men may live without 
writing, but cannot without food and raiment. In several re- 
spects, the poorer sort of the subjects are not free: they are 
obliged to couch down between two burdens; one of taxes, and 
another of artificial scarcity of provisions. We have this liberty 
above those nations where arbitrary power prevails — we may utter 
our complaints, without danger, providing we make no rash 
attempts to ease ourselves. 

But for all this burden of taxes there is some shew of reason; 
government must be supported, the debt of the nation must be 

* This was written in the year 1768; 

paid 



15 



SERMON II. 



paid off, pensioners must be maintained, and clerks' dues must be* 
discharged. All these things the valet de chambre of a minister 
of state knows better than I can pretend to. — But there is, 

2. A burden which several of his Majesty's subjects are made 
to couch down under, for which I can see no reason at all — to 
pay for bread and wine they never taste; to entertain people 
they have no concern with. This, they say, we are obliged to do 
by law; at least they threaten us with it, if we refuse to pay* 
If it be law, it is not justice, to make persons pay for other peo- 
ple's provisions, when they are abundantly able to do it them- 
selves. But why pay for the bread and wine made use of at 
Easter, and not also for every other month of the year? This is 
perhaps for the whole. It is far too much for those who do not 
make use of it. But they may if they will; but why may they 
not, if they will ? Is there any compulsion in matters of religion, 
in a land of liberty ? But they are not compelled to eat and 
drink, but to pay. And where is the reason for that? If it was 
charity* it would be due, but where is the righteousness of the 
demand ? I am afraid it savours of a law that was excogitated at 
Rome many hundred years ago. It is reasonable that every commu- 
nicant pay; but why impose upon Dissenters ? — especially such 
as have no freehold. Must every householder pay for what he 
never has any benefit by? This is surely such a burden as the 
Scribes and Pharisees laid in old times upon the common 
people. 

What law of Christ and his Apostles is this founded upon ? It 
should be founded some where in the New Testament, for it relates 
to religion. I should pay it for conscience sake, if they will 
shew me where it's required in the Gospel. It is surely neither 
decent nor orderly to make a feast, and oblige every one to pay 
for it, whether they can in conscience do it or not. This is 
using men like asses with a witness. They ill deserve communion 
with their Saviour, that are not willing to bear the expence of the 
outward elements of that communion- Say that it is charity, or 
prove that it is scriptural, and all good Christians will pay it for 
conscience sake. It is but reasonable they have some satisfac- 
tion for their money. 

Any people that were not past shame would blush to demand a 
tiling for a religious use they could not produce a warrant for 
from the word of God. " The love of money is the root of all 
evil;" and the passion for it prevails no where more than near the 
altar. Ah, ye priests/ ye make us pay for all things; ye catch 
us as soon as we come into the world, and ye never lose sight of 
us till we return to dust. Our mothers must pay you for bearing 
of us, our fathers for having us baptized. When we are married, 
and when we are buried, ye must be paid. When we come into 
the worlds and when we go out of it, ye set a price upon our heads. 
And did these two demands satisfy you, we might forgive you ; 
but as long as our heads are on our bodies, we must satisfy you 

every 



TO ASSES. 



17 



every year for the use of them : we may truly say, all our things 
are your's. You must taste of all our substance: the tithe of all 
we have, that is valuable and suitable for you, is your's. You say, 
tithes were appointed under the law for the tribe of Levi and the 
sons of the priesthood: but remember, ye Levites, Jesus Christ 
was not of your tribe; he belonged to a tribe that did not serve 
at the altar; and he did not institute any priests, nor give any 
laws concerning tithes. As we are Christians, you can have no 
just demands upon us: let such as observe the Jewish religion 
pay tithes, but what have we to do with the sons of Levi under 
the gospel. Gracious and merciful Saviour, thou earnest to set 
Christians free from bondage and slavery, and to give them deli- 
verance from the law of Moses; but we are still laid under a load 
of slavery that has no foundation in thy gospel, but is fixed upon 
us by that law. Thy Apostles received no tithes, for they were 
Christians, and meek and humble like thee : they loved to. set 
men free, but not to oppress them. They testified against the 
ceremonial law at the peril of their lives, and told Christians that 
it did not profit ; and to such as observed it Christ did profit 
them nothing. But circumstances are much altered since their 
time, — and we have reason to believe not at all for the better, but 
for the worse. It is a hard matter that Christians are still obliged 
to support a Jewish priesthood under the gospel. Priesthood! I* 
must go far back to find this office : there have been none sinee 
Jesus Christ finished transgression, and put an end to sin. It is 
an Old Testament office. Now, under the gospel, all the Lord's 
people are priests, in the language of the New Testament: " ye are 
a royal priesthood." But what does it signify what the New Tes- 
tament says? the liturgy of some churches says, We have priests, 
and they must have tithes. 

Self-denial is an essential part of our Saviour's religion : " Let a 
man deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me ;" which was 
once understood to mean, that believers were not to be conformed 
to the world, nor to seek great things for themselves. But it has 
been found since to signify the contrary ; that it is the highest de- 
gree of self denial to enjoy a living of several thousands a year,and 
do no mischief with it; that there is more mortification in rich 
well-furnished tables, when a man is able to afford them, than in 
moderation, temperance, and abstinence; that it is a better evi- 
dence of a true Christian to behave well in the midst of riches 
than in poverty. It will be owned that it is a rarer thing, but can 
never be a better evidence of true religion. 

We have very little reason to challenge such as have their good 
things in this life, providing they did not live by oppressing 
others by unjust claims and demands: but when such as make a 
shew of religion in will-worship make others who are not con- 
cerned with them bear the expence of it, it is but reasonable to 
put them in mind of what they should be. Must good subjects 
be loaded like asses by priests, as the Jews were when Jesus 

D Christ 



IS 



SERMON it 



Christ came into the world? When they ask privileges, let therrf 
pay: if they pay his Majesty's duty, what reason is there to pay 
for other people's religion, which they are not one grain the better 
of? When rel-igion is turned into a policy, and made subservient 
to private interest, it will ever bring tyranny along with it. Op- 
pression is inseparably connected with religion, when it is made the 
tool of ambition, and the road of preferment. I cannot easily 
understand, seeing the New Testament was given as the rule of 
direction for gospel churches, why providence did not concur to 
give us an example in what state ot preferment the members of 
the church should be in: for if any of the several establishments 
Of religion be gospel churches, there is no pattern of them in the 
New Testament. Antiquity makes nothing for this purpose, 
when the scripture is. silent. 

To affect a state of dignity, riches, power, and splendour, 
would require some Scripture precept or precedent to authorize 
the attempt* 

But circumstances did not permit; the world was heathen, and 
religion had no magistrate to protect it. That is all true ; but God 
could have made his providence concur to have given us an ex- 
ample of the state churches should be in; or, at least, he could 
easily have told us in bis word what he intended should be the 
highest pitch of ch urch preferment. If he has left it to the discretion 
of men, we cannot tell when it shall come to its height, nor is there 
any thing certain about it. As we have an example of gospel 
churches in the days of the Apostles, and there are no other pre-, 
scribed in Scripture, one would readily conclude there can be no 
other. It would be an accusation against the providence of God, 
to affirm, that the rules for preferment in his church were to 
settle after he withdrew the spirit of inspiration, without so 
much as leaving any hint that in the least favours any of these 
large societies called national churches. If men be to pay 
for the support of ecclesiastical dignities, it is but reasonable 
they have some authority given them for it from the New Tes- 
tament ; otherwise, if the magistrate pleased, he might as well 
require us to support the priests of J upiter-Ammon, and it 
would equally bind the conscience of a believer of the New 
Testament, with the law for paying tithes to bishops and their 
clergy. 

To pretend right to demand church dues from Dissenters from 
the church, more than power gives, is to treat us like asses; both 
to deprive us of our money and our senses. Though men of any 
religion at all will not disubey the laws of the magistrate, yet 
they cannot* unless they give up the use of their reason, believe 
that the church has any other claim but what the magistrate 
gives her : and even when they pay dues to such as it is his Ma- 
jesty's pleasure to honour, yet they cannot help both thinking 
and saying, they are ill applied, and the King is badly informed. 
Christians, though they may bear their burdens with patience 

when. 



TO ASSES. i£ 

fwben they can obtain no redress, yet they would be worse than 
asses to bear them tamely when they may obtain it. 

And one may venture to say, did the Dissenters from the 
church of England, in a body, represent their case to the Parlia- 
ment, they should obtain a deliverance from several grievances 
they couch down under. Could his Majesty, and the great 
council of the nation, ever .see it reasonable for peaceable subjects 
to bear unreasonable burdens ?— - who, when they have the expence 
of their own way of worship to maintain, are also made to pay 
all the ordinary expences of the establishment. If that part of 
the subjects called Protestant Dissenters be fkfor mauv purposes 
-for the good of the nation in a civil capacity, why should they 
not enjoy as extensive religious liberty, as they do civil privi- 
leges? Or is there any reason why they should pay equally 
with the members of the church in the support of the esta- 
blished religion, which they cannot in conscience enjoy any 
benefit by? 

Though that part of the subjects be burdened without their 
consent, as they cannot prevent or hinder the legislator from im- 
posing upon them, as they have none to represent them in the 
great council of . the nation, yet it would be stupidity not to 
complain of their grievances, and seek redress by all means 
lawful. 

It is undoubtedly, however, a burden upon such as do not 
or cannot in conscience join in the communion of the church of 
England, to be obliged to pay to support a worship they can see 
no warrant for from the New Testament. But, after imposing 
upon men's consciences, we need not think it strange that they 
impose upon our purses. What a weak religion must it he, that 
stands in need of any thing to support it, but what proceeds from 
voluntary consent and good-will? It is .strange that the Christian 
religion cannot maintain its ground by the same means that it 
gained it. Perhaps it may be said, that inspiration and the ex- 
traordinary providence of God made it gain ground in the world, 
but when that is ceased there is need of some other security. 
Truly, we may say, we have changed much for the worse, if the 
legal establishment of religion has come in the place of God's 
extraordinary assistance. 

But may it,not as well be affirmed, that since the word of God 
is now completed, and we have all the dictates of the Almighty's 
will needful to direct us into all truth, and the promise of his 
Spirit to lead us into it, that this is sufficient to secure religion till 
the sound of the last trumpet. The most that human laws can do 
in securing religion, is to make men say they are religious. They 
never can reach the conscience, nor make any man believe a doc** 
trine, till he have sufficient evidence for it. Religion is as well se- 
cured without establishments as with them, though the livings 
and benefices are not. The promise of God is a sufficient secu- 
rity of religion. The church is built upon the doctrine of " the 

prophets 



SERMON II. 



prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief 
corner stone." 

In the days of the apostles the church of God had not received 
the New Testament oracles into her possession. The apostles of 
Christ weie sent as well to communicate the mind of the Al- 
mighty to the church, as to convert men to the Christian religion. 
Evangelists, and other teachers, were also given by God, and sent 
by the apostles to all the several places and churches where reli- 
gion had taken up her residence. These messengers of the apos- 
tles were sent, and continued, till the whole of the sacred oracles 
•were given, and received by the church: they were endowed 
with the spirit of infallible interpretation, as the apostles were 
endowed with the spirit of inspiration. These elders, teachers, 
jor evangelists, had not any liberty to depart from the apostolical 
instructions, but were obliged to hold by " the form of sound 
words" which they received from the apostles. Their use in 
the church was to determine what was or was not truly apos- 
tolical. 

By these evangelists the Christian church was preserved from 
receiving any spurious writings of impostors in the place of, or 
together with, the dictates of divine inspiration. But when reve- 
lation was fully given, -and received by the church, then was re- 
ligion established ;■ — and that word, which from the mouths of 
the apostles converted so many to Christianity, was left for their 
establishment in the faith, and for the conversion of others. 
There is no need of inspiration now, since we have all that the 
apostles had, in their writings. That armour of God, which the 
apostles had, that was mighty to pull down strong holds and imagi- 
nations, that exalted themselves against the kingdom of God, and 
which at that time was only in their hands*, is now committed 
to all Christians. The apostle Paul gives a sufficient reason why 
the Christian churches may stand, and why they do so— -they 
have the whole armour of God, whereby they are able to resist the 
fiery darts of the wicked one: by this they stand fast in the evil 
day. That whole passage deserves a place here: Wherefore take 
unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to with- 
stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand, 
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on 
the breast-plate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the prepa- 
rations of the gospel of peace • above all things, taking the shield of 
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the 
wicked-, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the 
Spirit, which is the word of God. 

Can there be a better establishment of religion than this, or 
any better security for Christianity than the word of God? The 
word of God is unchangeable, and cannot alter; neither is it 
possible that the gates of hell can prevail against the church, 

I 2 Qor, x. \\. Eph. vi. 11, 12, 13. - ' 

though 



TO ASSES. 



21 



though there was not an establishment in the world. The church 
is not at any loss for the want of inspiration, in that sense the 
apostles had it, for in that sense she does not need it: the word 
of God fs mighty for all the purposes of edification and happiness 
to the church, to the end of the world. 

Such carnal weapons as acts of parliament, and civil sanctions, 
religion does not need, nor can they be applied unto it without 
destroying it. The weapons of our waif are are not carnal, yet 
mighty to pull down. The weapons of defence the apostles had, 
every Christian is now fully in the possession of. The decrees of 
councils, and the canons of the church, are also but carnal wea- 
pons, often framed through the influence of carnal policy, by men 
who had too great a share in the management of the kingdoms 
of this world to keep strictly to the rules of the kingdom of 
Christ. The most charitable construction that can be put upon 
all that ever was done by men in the way of forming laws of any 
kind in favour of religion, is, that they were building hay and 
stubble upon the foundation of the aposties. What Issachars 
would our church guides make us, to lay upon our shoulders 
such a heavy burden of ecclesiastic constitutions, human creeds, 
and articles, when every man that reads his New Testament may 
easily see the futility of their design? If we be the disciples of 
men, we are not the disciples of Jesus Christ. 

Civil burdens may be borne, but religious slavery is insupport- 
able: to bear either tamely is an ass-like disposition. As to the 
first, when there is no remedy nor hope of redress, it. is Cnristian- 
like to have patience, and be obedient to the powers that are in 
being: but it is stupidity to conch down and take a burden. 
When a burden is laid on by violence, or by the iniquity of the 
times, Christians should be patient sufferers, like Christ and his 
apostles: but when liberty can be obtained, it is meanness to 
couch down to slavery. If times permit, and laws allow Christians 
to assert their c4vil rights, they should not depart from rhem 
through meanness of spirit. Like Paul, they may tell such as en- 
deavour to burden them, they are free-born. As to religious bur- 
dens, as they respect the conscience, they cannot be borne at all: 
the consciences of men have but one Master, and cannot yield 
obedience to any other. It is not only mean, but criminal, to 
admit a partner with the Almighty in the government of con- 
science. Whether they be things that God hath commanded, or 
not, no man has a right to impose obedience upon us by any hu- 
man contrivance. If they be commanded, let them shew the 
authority, and rest there; for it is superfluous to acid to divine 
authority: if they are not commanded, it is presumptuous and 
profane, to attempt to lay a burden upon a subject, that is only 
accountable to the great Judge of all. Upon these principles of 
imposition, every man who imposes lays a snare for himself, when- 
ever the times happen to change; for whenever cue intolerant im- 
poser loses his power, and that power falls into other hands, what 

can 



SERMON II. 



*can lie expect, but to have his own measure returned back ag-aiti 
»unto him? There is no just reason for him to complain, however 
unjust it may be, for any other im poser to do as he hath done; 
for he is but now receiving the same measure lie so liberally gave 
out to others. Whoever insist upon having a right to oblige 
others to receive their religious opinions, upon the pain of any 
loss whatsoever, where the word of God gives no direction, must 
be accounted infidels towards God, and oppressors of mankind. 
When the word of God is given to make the man of God perfect, 
and is profitable for ali things in religion, do they not accuse God 
of folly, and his word of imperfection, who make fences against 
error, which are accounted more fit to guard men against heresy 
than the Scriptures themselves? And is it not treating men like 
asses, to tell them the Scriptures are profitable for all things in 
masters of religion, and yet lay them under the necessity of re- 
ceiving dogmas of human contrivance, to preserve the purity of 
the faith ? This is a mere Penelope's web, a doing and undoing at 
the same time. What occasion to introduce any other system of 
religion either with or besides the scriptures, if they be sufficient 
to make men perfect in all things pertaining to godliness? Do men 
think they can express themselves more intelligibly than the 
Holy Spirit, or commend the truth more clearly to other men's 
consciences? 

The most that can lawfully be done with any human composi- 
tion, however good it may be, is to leave it to men's consideration, 
and to suffer them to examine it by the word of God ; but if they 
cannot find it consistent therewith, they are at liberty to reject it. 

The reason of all civil or religious impositions hath been the 
natural slothfulness of individuals, that could not be at pains to 
mind their own business and private rights. Mankind, in the se- 
veral ages of the world, have beean like great men who give them- 
selves to pleasure, and commit the care of their estates to the 
management of stewards, who at last become masters, and make 
their masters their servants. Such as are by the community ex* 
alted to power and preferment, unless they be wise and virtuous, 
except the several individuals which advanced them to power look 
also to their administration, they will be ready, like Phaeton, who re- 
ceived the direction of his father's chariot, to set the world on fire. 

One cause of our present complaints, both as to civil and 
religious oppression, is, that we look not to ourselves, but think, 
as soon as we have elected civil or religious governors, we may 
fail asleep in pleasure, indolence, and inattention. There is no 
-doubt but governors were designed for ease to the public; and 
when they do their duty, they are a public blessing: but when 
they degenerate into tyrants, there is as much of the blame lies 
upon them ; for had those who employed them watched over 
them as they ought, and given them timely admonition, they 
might have prevented them from ruining both their own souls 
and the public interest. The indolence and sloth of a people 

are 



TO ASSES. 



are a temptation to governors to turn usurpers. In a free coun- 
try like our's, where commissioners to parliament are elected bf 
the community, and are not to be perpetual dictators, it would 
be easy to make them rule with discretion, by putting them in 
mind of the shortness of their power. We lose our liberty by not 
asserting it properly. It serves no purpose to cry out against the 
government and the prime minister, when we are ourselves to 
blame. When the time of a general election comes on, it is in 
the power of the subjects to assert their own liberty. When 
these men, who rule by their wealth, and whose business it is to 
corrupt their fellow-subjects with bribery, and cheat them out of 
their liberty by flattery and corruption, come to ask your voices- 
in their election, do you despise their offers, and say to thenv 
Your money perish with you ! Can it be supposed, that such men 
will take care of your interests, who want to ruin your souls, who- 
begin with debauching your morals with drunkenness and perjury.. 
Will that man have the least regard for your civil interest and' 
property, who first attempts to ruin your virtue? Will he ever 
scruple to betray the liberties of his country, who teacfres ; 
perjury, and follows bribery and corruption? It is at best a bad 
beginning, when men mount to preferment by means of bribery 
and false swearing. What better is a county, a city, or a borougta, 
than a community of asses, that suffer themselves to be cheated' 
out of their privileges, by any duke, knight, or 'squire, that conies 
to water them? When any of these, who offer themselves candid 
elates to counties and towns, to be elected members of parliament^ 
come to solicit votes, by making whole towns swim in drunken- 
ness, what opinion must these gentlemen have of such drunken 
societies, who will do so much for a few days of riot and gluttony, 
as to sell their liberties, but that they are asses that want to be 
watered? Can that nation be accounted free, that can be so 
easily enslaved by drunkenness and bribery? Liberty is but a 
name, wheu it can be so easily subdued by such mean gratifica* 
tions. When men are slaves to their lusts, they will never be free. 
Men that do so easily sell their souls will not value their country. 
Where there is not virtue, there can be no liberty— it is only 
licentiousness. Liberty is an high-sounding name in Britain; 
and there are, I dare say, more slaves in it, according to the 
privileges it enjoys, than there are in Constantinople; and with 
this aggravation, that they know how to prevent it. What 
Issachars are these towns and corporations, that give their 
votes to a member of parliament who neither fears God nop 
loves them; who, by the method he pursues to obtain an 
election, deserves to forfeit the favour and esteem of all the 
lovers of virtue and honesty. Whom can they blame for their 
oppression but themselves? Their own hands do make the 
fetters by which they are bound. Can the disturbers and 
debauchers of cities, towns, and corporations, be fit men to 
•sit in the great councii of these nations; who, during th# 
- 9 druukea 



24 



SERMON IL 



drunken revels of several weeks and months, ruin more morals, 
and corrupt more minds, than ever their service is worth to 
the common-weal? 

It appears something strange, that men cannot be supposed to be 
free to make choice of one to represent them in the high assembly 
of the nation, till they be made slaves to drunkenness and cor- 
ruption. It were sufficient to make all good subjects abhor a 
man that offered such an insult to their virtue, as to attempt to 
overcome it before they would solicit their election. These towns, 
counties, and corporations, richly deserve a burden of heavy 
taxes upon their window lights, and other property, who give up 
the light of their understanding to venal corruption. Those who 
have laid out so much money upon an election, will endeavour 
to make you pay for it, by joining with some venal ministry in 
taxing you, for the benefit of a rich preferment. Had the se- 
veral members of cities, towns, and counties, consulted their own 
happiness and interest, as truly as they have sometimes made a 
noise about them, they might have prevented many heavy im- 
positions that they now labour under. Had they made it 
their business to choose worthy and good men to represent them 
in parliament, with an asssurance that they would ever support 
them, while they made it their study to maintain their liberties ; 
but on the other hand would despise every such person as should 
betray the interest of his constituents, and the welfare of his 
country, for any place, pension, or preferment, they might have 
hereby laid some restraint upon the venal disposition of such as 
make a trade of selling their country, for a place or pension 
under an aspiring minister. The assurance that tbey should 
never again be elected by any county, city, town, or corporation, 
if they joined in bringing them under any burden and slavery, 
would be a check upon them, to hinder them from going into all 
the schemes of a minister to hurt their fellow-subjects. But 
what have men to expect from such candidates, who offer them- 
selves to serve their country, but begin with corrupting their 
morals, that they may remove from their minds all sense of 
virtue, that they may the better make a sale of their privileges. 
These corrupt members of the commonwealth know how to 
pacify those whose interest they have betrayed in parliament. 
It is only to do what they do every time they are elected, to 
make towns and cities revel in drunkenness for so many days 
and weeks, and to bribe some few who have influence to lead 
the rest. After this they depart to their old employment, witlv 
the character of the best men in the world. It requires no more 
but that they occassionally water their asses, to make them true 
beasts of burden, and cause them to stoop down patiently and 
take them on. If some are more obstinate than the rest, and 
Tvill not be tractable enough wiih an ordinary quantity of good 
liquor, they know how to manage such asses— they silence their 
noise with some gift that is suited to their disposition, Issachar's 

character 



TO ASSES. 



25 



character is truly applicable to the inhabitants of Britain — they 

are strong asses, that love rest and ease, and couch down under 
heavy burdens. 

Were not the greatest part of these kingdoms of Issachar's cha- 
racter, could they sit easy under taxes the most unreasonable in 
the world ? Are there not mam- things fitter for bearing taxation 
than the necessaries of life? The poorest man that lives cannot 
Jive without meat and drink, shoes, and light; yet He must pay 
heavy duty for the sun that shines in at his window, for the beer 
he drinks, the candle he makes use of, and for the very shoes Upon 
his feet. Those who opposed the cider act, and obtained the 
repeal thereof after it. was past, were truly sons of liberty. They 
were like Naphtali, hinds let loose; and not like Issachar, strong 
asses couching down under unreasonable burdens and oppres- 
sion. We have certainly as good right to drink beer without 
heavy excise, as they have to drink cider. Britons, you will soon 
have it in your power to enjoy the same freedom as these your 
fellow-subjects. When the general election comes on, choose ho 
man for a member of parliament, who will not give you security 
that he will stand up for a repeal of those several laws that oppress 
you. If you remain still under your burdens, it must be your 
own fault. You will stand recorded for asses to all generations, if 
you do not assert your liberties when you have it in your power. 
It is not disloyalty to your King, nor any way injurious to the 
constitution and laws of your country, to give instructions to the 
candidates you choose for your members of parliament, and take 
their obligation that they will follow these instructions. This will 
be more noble than taking bribes, and more profitable than rioting 
a few days in gluttony and drunkenness. Members of par- 
liament are your servants, and the servants of their country; it 
is but reasonable they be made accountable for their conduct. 
Give them their instructions, and require them to keep by them. 
When any duke or lord, knight or 'squire, come with their drunken 
rabble of attendants, to solicit your votes by treats and entertain- 
ments, put them in mind what they are about, and what they 
ought to be. Tell them that none who make attempts upon other 
men's virtue can be faithful to their liberties and interest. Shun 
them as you would do the pestilence, lest you suffer them to cor- 
rupt your virtue. Remember, that there cannot a greater plague 
enter a city, than such as seek to stain the virtue of the inha- 
bitants. 

Is it not strange to see a whole town and corporation flocking 
about a man for some private emolument to individuals, at the 
expence of the public welfare, each concealing from his neighbour 
his real intention, that he may serve or please himself with some 
base gratification ? That same person who thus endeavours to 
corrupt you, and is at great expence to do it, will no doubt make 
you pay for it soundly, by taxing you severely. That money he 
is obliged to lay out to obtain your election, he knows how to bring 

E back 



SERMON II. 



"back to himself, with interest, at your expenc* It appears to me 
exceeding plain, that all the towns and counties in Britain have 
borne the ex pence of their own elections these several sessions of 
parliament. These two articles*— window-cess, and the duty upon 
ale and beer, for fourteen years back, I presume, sufficiently com- 
pensate for the expence of the election-jobbers. I shall, perhaps, 
hear it said, that this is applied to the use of the government. 1 
own it is very true ;— but it is to pay a number of pensioners, that 
ruined themselves first by elections, and have since been better 
endowed than ever they were before. It would be thought, per- 
haps, invidious to produce examples, — but there are many to be 
found. A gentleman may safely sink his estate by procuring an 
election, when he can afterwards buy another ten times better than 
that which he had before. They are, in this respect, like other 
traders, who, when they fail, Very often make a profitable compo- 
sition at other people's expence, and grow richer than ever they 
were before. 

It would, undoubtedly, be a good method to do with the candi- 
dates for elections as is done with the military on these occasions-— 
to keep them and their agents a stage distant from the place of 
the election till it was decided. In this respect it would be free k 
but there can be no true liberty where people are not left indifferent 
to make a choice purely upon the principles of virtue. 

Men will not readily submit to any bondage till they be cor- 
rupted. The way that has been taken in all ages to enslave man- 
kind has been fast to overcome their virtue. As long as the Ro- 
mans were virtuous, they enjoyed freedom and liberty ; but when 
kixury, bribery, and corruption, were introduced, virtue declined, 
and Rome was enslaved. It is vain to talk of freedom when we 
are slaves to our passions : such as have art to manage these springs 
of action will easily make us slaves by our own consent; and, by 
taking hold of something within us, insensibly lead us into bon- 
dage. One would readily think that such as offered their service 
to their country intended the welfare thereof; but when they set 
out on their enterprise, by first overcoming, or seeking to over- 
come, the virtue of their fellow-subjects, it is a bad omen, and 
gives ground of suspicion, that something beside public happiness 
is the reason of their conduct. When a man, to whom Providence 
hath given a liberal share of worldly possessions, and who is able, 
by the weight of his interest, to weigh down the fourth part of a 
county, employs that interest contrary to the principles of honesty 
and virtue, any person of the least discernment may see that he is 
a curse to the nation. When men's votes are solicited, or pur- 
chased, or when such as are in some dependence upon a superior r 
are overawed in their voting, the person whom they choose is not 
freely elected. The men of large fortunes treat their dependents 
like asses, and threaten them out of their liberty and virtue at 
once, by the weight of their interest. In strict speaking, there is 
bo m,an free, according to the present rules of elections, but men 



TO ASSES. 



of large and extensive fortunes. The power of choosing ^ rnian to 
represent a town or county in parliament is lodged in the hands of 
a few monopolizers of privileges, who, by the weight of their 
purses, and the power of their interest, can turn the rest as they 
have a mind. Britons, are you sensible what you are doing, when, 
for some small favour, or sordid gratification, you sell your votes 
to such as want to enslave your country. You are publishing to 
all the world that you are asses, ready and willing to take on any 
burden. 

The meanness of the greatest number of freeholders in Britain 
is conspicuous in their stooping down to take on every burden that 
any overgrown duke or knight pleases to impose upon them. When 
once it is known what side of the question ** his Grace" is on, the 
inferior freeholders ask no more, but generally say, Amen. They 
do not consider the qualifications and merit of the candidate, whe*. 
ther he is a wise man or a fool, an honest man or a knave, a friend 
to his country or a tool of the state : if he is such a great man's 
friend, that is sufficient. In this cond,uct of British freeholders 
we may also see the character of several of their members of parlia- 
ment. When men, who have a right to elect one to represent 
ihem in the great council of the nation, have no concern for their 
own interest, but elect, by chance, any one that a superior recom- 
mends, they have no reason to think that the man whom they have 
chosen will pay any more regard to their interest than they have 
done themselves ; — they will be ready to vote in parliament with 
as much indifference about the interest of their constituents, as they 
did for them in the general election: as they have had occasion to 
learn from the conduct of the nation in general, how little they 
value their liberties and property, by intrusting them in the hands 
of men they neither did know, nor endeavoured to know, they 
find they can with more safety dispose of them to their own advan- 
tage, at the call of a minister, for a good consideration. 

Who is to blame for the heavy load of taxes that the nation 
groans under, but the very people who pay them ? Had they 
been careful in choosing honest and fit men to manage their inte- 
rests at court, who are possessed of love for their country, and the 
happiness of those they represented, they would have stood up 
for their interest, and declared against all imposition. It is men's 
own indolence and inattention that ruin them. 

The remedy against these burdens is evident: men ought sin- 
cerely to look after their own interests. From a principle of dis- 
interested love to the public, every man that enjoys possessions 
should take care of them, as a trust committed to him for which 
he is accountable ; not as accountable only to himself, by consi- 
dering what he possesses to be his own, which he may dispose of 
at his pleasure, but as intrusted by Providence with something 
that the public has a concern in. A kingdom under a government 
like our's is like an estate put into the hands of a number of 
Stewards, who, though they have their reward for their service, yet 

are 



• 



2S SERMON H 40 

are obliged to act for the good of the whole. The right exercise 
of their liberty consists in supporting private right, for the sake 
of public happiness. When individuals cease to take are of 
their special departments, as supporters of public liberty, they 
will degenerate into indifference, or selfish principles. 

As much depends upon wise legislation to make men free and 
happy— as laws, when formed, must affect every individual — it 
must be necessary, in the first degree, to have wise men appoint- 
ed to act in the legislature. Burdens must be taken off in the 
same manner they were laid on; and as selfish and corrupt 
members of parliament were the instruments of imposing burdens 
upon the nation, wise, virtuous, and disinterested ones must, be 
the instruments of removing them. Instead of fruitless com- 
plaints against the government, when it is not in your power to 
help the evil, let it be your study, Britons, now when it is in 
your power, to apply an effectual remedy. Choose none of those 
for your representatives at the general election who concurred in 
laying burdens upon you before. Suffer them to stand as beacons, for 
posterity to take warning from. Shall the freeholders of Britain 
again choose such unworthy members of society to manage their 
public affairs, they may expect to have their burdens continued, 
and fixed more firmly upon their shoulders. You may always 
suspect every one that wants to corrupt you : the same person 
"will also endeavour to load you with heavy burdens. The whole 
nation, by this time, may know who were the tools of the mi- 
nistry in the last session of parliament. Set a mark upon them, 
that ages to come may hold their memories in abhorrence. Let 
it be known, that Britain knows how to reward the worthy, and 
despise the worthless. Would England desire to get free of some 
heavy and grievous burdens, which the poor, and even the middle 
ranks of mankind groan under, let them endeavour to make 
choice of men to represent them in parliament, who will be as 
zealous to get them freed from oppression as their former repre- 
sentatives were to impose burdens upon them. It will be more 
honourable to give your vote for a member of parliament, upon 
his promise to stand up for the repeal of oppressive acts of the 
legislature, than to take a petty bribe, or some naughty private 
consideration : it will be more honourable to engage your repre- 
sentative to convey the voice and sense of his constituents to the 
audience of the legislature, than to choose him for some private 
emolument, or sordid advantage to some individuals. May not 
Britain cry and utter her voice, and say she will not be any longer 
enslaved or oppressed ? May not counties, towns, and corporations, 
give instructions to such as they make choice of for public ser- 
vants? And may they not make it a condition of their election, 
that their members assert their privileges, and cry loud for a 
repeal of all oppressive laws? The cider counties have set you 
an example: they cried, and they were heard. The Americans 
gained the repeal of the stamp act by a vigorous resistance of 
. • oppression. 



TO ASSES. 



oppression. Have the rest of Britain no burdens they want to 
have removed? Are there none of the necessaries of life taxed, 
which much affect the poor mechanic, and the mercantile part of 
the nation? Now is the time to exert themselves. Take care, 
you who have it in your power to do justice to yourselves, and a 
real service to your country, whom you give your votes for. 
Shall any one solicit your votes, because he judges himself quali- 
fied with so many hundreds or thousands of yearly income, ask 
him if he has a good conscience, and is a lover of his country. 
Shall he tell you that he is approved of by so many of the princi- 
pal freeholders in the county, or the members of a city, tell him 
you judge for yourselves, and do not walk by the light of other 
men. Was he a member before, consider what measures he fell 
in with; was he a patriot, or not? or was he the dupe of the 
ministry or a tool of the court? mark him down blank, and tell 
him to mind his business, for you cannot serve them. Such as 
have honestly served their country, encourage them ; let your 
election be no expence to them. Even prevent such with your 
votes, and desire their further good offices. Shall Britain take 
care to have the great assembly of the nation filled with good, 
honest, and faithful patriots, then may she expect to get free 
of burdens and oppression. But shall every dull d-— e, and 
heavy-headed k — t, whom Providence has cursed with a large 
estate, have it in their power to impose one of their friends and 
creatures upon you for a member of parliament, you may say 
farewell to liberty, and couch down under your burdens j like 
Issachar, you will stand recorded in the annals of future ages for 
asses. 

With regard to religious bondage and oppression, as it respects 
chiefly Dissenters from the establishment, it will not be so easy 
to get it removed. But certainly the laity of Britain have more 
good sense than not to see the absurdity of several ecclesiastic im- 
positions upon that part of his Majesty's subjects. It is not 
likely that the established clergy will ever give their consent to 
any -law that shall ever be made for the relief of Protestant Dis- 
senters ; they will, no doubt, consider that their relief will be 
their disadvantage. But the clergy are not the majority in par- 
liament; nor does wisdom, charity, and humanity, dwell alone 
with them. Reason has of later times often triumphed over 
severe statute laws. May not Dissenters make a trial, and repre- 
sent their case to the high court of the nation? The laity who 
sit in that assembly are friends to reason and common sense, and 
will, undoubtedly, listen to the grievances of faithful subjects. 
Is it not unreasonable that subjects, who are ready on all occa- 
sions to serve the government, should bear such a mark of 
slavery, as to be obliged to pay for their heads every year to a 
church they cannot, in conscience, join with ? Is it reasonable to 
pay for the benefit of the atmosphere, to receive the smoke of 
their chimneys, to a church they cannot ask any privileges from, 

from 



30 



SERMON II. 



from a principle of conscience? Are Dissenters free, when they 
are obliged to perform the office of churchwardens, in a church 
they cannot communicate with, without wounding their own con- 
sciences, and betraying their sincerity? It could not be con- 
strued disloyalty, for the whole body of Protestant Dissenters 
to join in an address to the parliament, for the removal of the 
causes of their grievances; there is some reason to expect they 
would be heard; at least, it would shew they were not, like Issa- 
char, asses couching down under a heavy burden voluntarily. 
It would shew to the world the nobleness "of their spirit, in 
striving to get free of oppression. Occasional conformity for 
posts under the government is a burden very unreasonable; it 
ought not to be required, and should not be complied with. 
Cannot an oath of fidelity and allegiance to the sovereign give 
security to the state of a man's loyalty, without taking the sacra- 
ment upon it? Can there be any reason for such an imposition 
in nature, or revealed religion? It would be better to tell Dis- 
senters that they shall have no preferments under the govern- 
ment at all, than clog them with such conditions. Such as com- 
ply occasionally must be men of no principle: they must dissent 
from no principle of conscience, who have liberty to use such 
freedoms. It is not a light matter for men to have a call to serve 
their country and their sovereign, and be obliged to give up 
conscience, or refuse the call. This is at least leading men into 
temptation. May not Protestant Dissenters supplicate their 
superiors, and earnestly intreat them to consider their burdens? 
They have undoubtedly some property in the nation, and bear 
their own share in the expence of government; it can be no pre- 
sumption to ask what is reasonable. They should join mutually 
in petitioning his Majesty, and the high assembly of the nation, 
for a hearing of their grievances. I flatter myself their joint cry 
for liberty would be heard. Whatever are our burdens, let us 
take honest and honourable steps to have them removed. In* 
stead of clamours against the court, instead of mobs, riots, and 
commotions, let the oppressed ask orderly, and they shall re- 
ceive. If they cannot obtain redress, they will have the satisfact- 
ion to reflect, that they have not taken on their own burdens. 
Providence will some time favour their attempts. But if, like 
Issachar, they peaceably couch down and take on their oion burdens^ 
they will find manyready to impose upon them* 



SERMON 



TO ASSES. 



SERMON III* 

Numbers, xxii. 21 — 30. 

And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went 
with the princes of Moab. — And the ass said unto Balaum, Am 
not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was 
thine ? 

*T^HERE are several methods of preaching in practice among 
w the several professors who pretend to that gift; but the 
chief seem to be these two — -to make some text of Scripture 
either the foundation or occasion of their discourse. It answers 
much the same purpose, whether a sermon be taken from the 
text, or suggested by means thereof. I imagine my readers will 
easily conceive which of these methods I have observed in this 
discourse. Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass. 
There must be some matter of importance in hand, when a man 
of Balaam's character is up so early. Some pious purpose, no 
doubt, is to be executed when a prophet rises so soon in the 
morning. You will be surprised to hear that the anger of the 
Lord was kindled against the prophet. There was a reason for 
it: — Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness, and rose with a 
design to curse a blessed people to procure them. 

Alas! the whole creation groaneth and is in bondage until 
now; — the meanest animal is brought into slavery by the iniqui- 
ties of man. Men of deep designs and profound politics will 
make use of any instrument to obtain their ends. When a man 
is riding to the devil, an ass will serve the purpose as well as a 
horse. Our covetous prophet had now a great object in his 
eye : — the King of Moab had promised to exalt him to riches and 
honour, if he would curse the children of Israel; and it is no 
wonder that a man of Balaam's disposition was up early in the 
mornitfg to look after them. It was to serve a king too. The 
leaders in ail nations, in all ages, have been well disposed to 
serve the great. I have read of bishops who have been employed 
the same way. But how shall he curse whom God hath blessed? 
What did the king of Moab mean, by asking Balaam to curse 
Israel? Superstition has been very early in the world :— such as 
had no just notions of the true God had yet some notions oi^L 
Supreme Power to bless and curse. 

Balaam seems to have been one of the Eastern Magi, and one 
of those who pretended to be hand and glove with some power- 
ful divinity, whose aid he could call in at his pleasure, to bless 
or curse whom he had a mind. It is very likely this was all a 
perversion and corruption of the religion of the true God, which 
was made u*e of to serve the pious purposes of false prophets. 



SERMON III. 



and the politics of princes. The greatest part of the leading 
men of this world, in almost every age,. have meant no more by 
religion, than to make it an engine of state policy, or a tool of 
secular interest. Men of any degree of sagacity can easily see 
that the common people will not always be subject to their au- 
thority, unless they be brought under it by means of temporal 
advantage, or the influence of religion; and as they who aspire 
after power are seldom disposed to part with many worldly emo- 
luments, they endeavour to gain the obedience of the vulgar with 
what costs them nothing, and what they themselves set no value 
upon. Severe as this reflection may seem upon human legisla- 
tors, experience hath for a long time confirmed it ; and it is 
evident from observation, that the greatest part of those who have 
wanted to bring over religion to their side have made use of it 
to serve the ends of their pride and ambition. It is difficult, if 
not impossible, to govern mankind without some form of reli- 
gion ; for it may be found by observation, that where there is 
least religion, or where it is most perverted, there is generally 
the greatest barbarity among the inhabitants of any country. 
Where the knowledge of the Deity is well nigh obliterated in 
the minds of a people, they differ but little from other animals; 
they are rude, savage, and untractable, till they are instructed in 
the knowledge of religion. 

I must observe here, that although princes have made religion 
an engine of government to manage their subjects by, yet they 
could never so far prevail over priests and prophets, as to make 
them subservient to the ends of their policy, without allowing 
them to go snacks with them in the profits that arise from it. 

It would appear, from considering the influence of religion 
upon mankind, that it is necessary to their very constitution, in 
a civilized capacity ; for without it they differ but little from 
brutes. The best civil policy cannot subsist without it; for 
where religion is once removed, there is neither law nor policy. 
Religion softens the mind, and makes it capable of impressions 
that men are strangers to without it:— without it we have no 
proper springs, of action to excite us to what is truly noble and 
virtuous. Some men may have a sort of animal docility, and 
be more easily kept in order than others; but without religion 
they are at best but a milder sort of savage. 

It is a pity, however, it should be made subservient to base 
ends and purposes: it seems to be the chief end of our nature, 
and should be the chief aim of our conduct. To it all other 
things should be made subservient; and it is no sign of the 
soundness of the human economy, when the mistress is made 
a dupe to her handmaids* It is a strong argument of the use- 
fulness of religion, that generally all men, in the time of distress, 
make her their dernier resort. 

What kings find themselves unable to do by force of arms, they 
sometimes think may be done by the Deity without them. This 

is 



TO ASSES. 



S3 



is a fair, but a forced acknowledgment of human impotence, 
and of the independence of the Deity. 

Whatever may have been said by travellers, perhaps there are 
no people in the world but do worship a deity, under the cha- 
racters of either good or bad. The human mind seems to be 
formed for religion; and notwithstanding the wrong bias that 
habit and custom do often give the minds of men, yet the very 
errors and excesses of mankind shew what way the mind would 
exercise herself, if she were once clear of those fetters and mana- 
cles that hold her. 

Were there as many to instruct us in the ways of righteousness 
as there are to seduce us into the paths of error and falsehood, 
perhaps we would find matters very different from what they are. 
When civil and religious rulers are engaged in one interest to 
seduce mankind, if the Almighty himself were not at the head of 
the administration, it is hard to say where the end might be. It 
is observable, that every man, rich and poor, when they are in 
distress, if they enjoy- the exercise of their reason, want to bring 
over the Deity to their interest; but often the means that they 
make use of to accomplish their end, deserve to be classed among 
the number of their provocations. No man ought to ask from 
God what will ruin another; for when the Almighty gives a 
favour to one, it does not incapacitate him to give another man 
the same, if he knows he stands in need of it. Curses, above all 
things, are most disagreeable to a good and merciful God. 
What, O Balak, didst thou mean, to send for a prophet to curse 
a people that had not yet injured thee? Good God! what would 
become of thy Israel, if the king of Moab had power? They 
would be all destroyed in a moment. 

It is well for the world that God is the supreme governor of it, 
whose laws are love, and his government mercy. The king of 
Moab must have been very ignorant of the character of that God 
that rules the universe, to think that he had not an equal good- 
will to the same .works of his hands. Perhaps he had been 
taught the doctrine of a good and evil genius ; one 'that could 
curse, and another that could bless. At this time he wanted the 
aid of the evil genius, to distribute maledictions among a people 
he was afraid of. Fear and hatred are very closely allied; Quisquis 
timet, quanquam est intactus, et odit. 

When matters go on pleasantly with wicked men, they forget 
their God ; but when they find their own incapacity to bear their 
burdens, they would willingly throw them upon the Almighty. 
This they do, not out of love, but fear. 

There are many men in the world that have the same opinion 
of God that they have of the devil— that he is disposed to do ill 
to them that are his enemies. Their notions of good and evil are 
much the same; and therefore their God and their devil must 
have the same character. Their notions of good are, that it 
is fit they do what they please without punishment, and follow 

F the 



34 



SERMON III. 



the bent of their own inclination with impunity: and they mean 
no more by evil than punishment for their offences. It is good- 
ness to suffer them to continue as they are; and it is evil to inter- 
rupt them in the gratification of their appetites and passions. 
Virtue is not good to them, and vice evil; but punishment is 
evil, and impunity good. 

The king of Moab and his prophet Balaam have now the cha- 
racter of some daemon in their eye. He must curse Israel, or he 
does nothing. What malignity must there be in some men's 
temper, that they cannot rest satisfied but with the destruction of 
their fellow-creatures? Had thy children, Balak, all died in that 
battle where thy friend Balaam fell, and all his children perished 
with himself, the world would have had no cause to lament the 
loss. But the case is otherwise. Thy offspring, like Pharaoh's 
locusts, overspread all the kingdoms of Europe. From thee and 
thy prophet Balaam, statesmen have learned to curse their ene- 
mies, and to ask the aid of prophets to support their cause. 
From Balaam churches have taken the hint of devoting such to 
eternal destruction as will not join in their common creed, to 
support the common craft. How has the name of the Deity been 
profaned by malevolent invocations, to curse thousands that have 
been dear in his sight! The leaders of state and church policy 
have ever acted upon the same principle. What cannot be so 
easily effected by reason and strength of argument has often been 
obtained by curses and church anathemas. 

It is a long time since statesmen have found need of the assist- 
ance of some deity, and churchmen have pretended interest 
enough to procure it; yet the first have often been disappointed, 
and the latter found to be liars. The God of this universe has 
more mercy and goodness than to hear the prayers of either 
civil or religious politicians, who only make use of his assistance 
to serve their own pride and ambition. Worldly interest has 
ever bjeen the chief bond of alliance between churchmen and 
statesmen; and to serve this pious purpose, they have abused 
both the characters of God and the Devil. 

We can find authentic accounts of two parties near Dunbar, 
in the time of the usurpation, ready to shed one another's blood 
in the name of the Lord, — and both confidently assured of suc- 
cess by their prophets, that consulted their oracles. Could it 
be the God of heaven that these enthusiasts consulted, and from 
whom they affirmed they had received assurance of success? If 
so, they must either have mistaken his meaning, or he deceived 
some of them. I am afraid, the prophets were like Balaam, and 
the rulers like Balak, who went to curse their enemies, but God 
turned it unto a blessing; not for the deserts of them that pros- 
pered, but for the impertinence and impiety of them who suf- 
fered. 

There seems to be one reason why wicked men in the time of 
difficulty seek the assistance of some invisible deity: — they 

choose 



TO ASSES. 35 

choose not to have it thought that they depend upon any visible 
agent. All men in the time of prosperity atFect a sort of indepen- 
dence, and would be deities if they could. When distress comes 
upon them, they are stimulated by pride not to acknowledge their 
dependence upon such as they have accounted their inferiors; — 
they betake themselves therefore to some invisible divinity, which 
their consciences tell them somewhere existeth, but which they 
have neglected to acknowledge till distress urged them to it. 
They only give up their notions of independence, when they can 
no longer support them with any credit. This is the most 
honourable way of retreating they can think on, to acknowledge 
a power w>hieh they would willingly suppose the rest of mankind 
have not so much interest with as themselves. 

Thus wicked men change atheism for hypocrisy: for when 
th«y find themselves under some necessity to acknowledge a 
deity, they at the same time incline to monopolize his favour, 
and pretend they are his greatest intimates; when, at the same 
time, they rather make use ofthese pretences to serve their own 
ends and purposes, than sincerely behave as the friends of God. 

When men are obliged to renounce any degree of their own 
independence, they would willingly do it with as much regard to 
their notions of dignity as they could; and it is for this reason, 
when they are disposed to depend upon the Almighty, that they 
always incline to make the world believe that him and them are 
very familiar; that though they dare not consider themselves 
his superior, yet they would willingly be as near equal to him as 
they possibly could. Hence it is, that fake prophets and enthu- 
siasts of all sorts have always given out what influence they had 
with their divinities, that one would almost conclude that they 
durst not do any thing without their good leave, nor refuse any 
thing they had a mind to ask. Such an opinion as this Balak 
seems to have had of the false prophet Balaam : for, says he, 
" whom thou hlessest is blessed, and whom thou cursest is cursed." 

This prophet affected divinity as long as he could, — till the 
Almighty made him understand that his divinations were under 
his controul, and then he was obliged to confess that be could 
do nothing beyond the commandment of the Lord. Mankind 
in general make as great a secret of their dependence upon God 
as they possibly can, and in the capital points of their depend- 
ence pretend that none knows it but God and themselves. 
This seems to be the resson why some devout people do not 
consider intercourse with God as a common privilege, but pecu- 
liar to themselves, as the favourites of heaven. If men were en- 
tirely satisfied in their own minds with their dependence upon 
God, they would make no secret of it, but humbly confess it on 
every occasion: — but when they want to wrap it up in mysticism, 
and conceal it under some form of divination, it still says they 
are not satisfied, whatever they pretend. It seems to be more 
the disposition of mankind to be divinities, than to seek after 

intercourse 



36 SERMON III. 

intercourse with God. The heathens had a ruling propensity of 
this sort; — they affected divine honours, and wanted to be ac- 
counted deities; yet this was seldom conferred upon them till 
after they were dead. And the reason seems to have been, that 
there were so many affecting the same thing, that they could not 
endure a divinity they saw with their eyes in their own nature, 
because it so far destroyed every man's private opinion of self- 
dependence. 

It will be found, upon strict inquiry into the human heart, that 
the same ambition that excited our first parents to seek to be as 
gods, makes all their posterity, while they are not governed by 
the influence of the gospel, to affect the same thing. *! When 
the mind is once perverted, no man will seek to he virtuous of his 
own accord v'— and unless he be persuaded by arguments that 
are more powerful than his prejudices, he will continue in the 
same condition into which he was seduced t 

I was observing, that the human mind is some way or other 
formed for religion. This is evident upon occasions; which 
shews, that whatever perversity there may be in it by seduction, 
its original form was quite the reverse. The infidelity of the 
mind does not arise from its nature, but from an evil seed, that 
■was sown by an enemy, which, when it grows up r over-rules the 
springs of action, and causeth men to act unnaturally. 

There is nothing more unnatural than atheism and infidelity : 
for both the works and word of God do teach us, u that dependence 
upon the Almighty is the language of nature. Till the mind be 
rightly informed, she is incapable of forming right moral prin- 
ciples, and without the benefit of revelation will either fall into 
superstition or enthusiasm, if not into infidelity :<r-but this is a 
perversion of nature, and not the original design of the mind. 
When men so far depart from the first principles of nature as to 
affect independency, the reason is, they are corrupted and per- 
verted. Danger or affliction will produce feelings which will 
stagger men's notions of self-dependence; but unless they are 
set right by divine revelation, they will land in superstition and 
enthusiasm. The reason why the heathens fell so grossly into 
superstition was, they wanted a guide to reform their minds from 
that perversity of temper that all men are possessed of, till reve^ 
lation discover to them the errors of their hearts. 

At the same time that men are attempting to seduce others, 
and endeavouring to support superstition, they are often insen- 
sibly themselves infected with the same distemper. Balak, who 
no doubt attempted to impose upon the people of Moab the 
foolish superstition of these times, as a tool of state, and an 
engine of government, was himself infected with the same delu- 
sion. He applies to Balaam for his aid in the time of his dis- 
tress. This Balaam seems to have been a man of great repute 
among the superstitious people of these parts. I have observed 
already, that most likely he was one of the Eastern Magi, one 

who 



TO ASSES. 



S7 



who pretended intimacy with some divinity— who needed only 
some few compliments paid to him, and then would work wonders 
in favour of his friends. One would think that the eastern kings 
had not been very intimate with their deities, when they had so 
far to send for a mediator :— -perhaps in these times kings had 
other business to mind than religion, unless upon very special oc- 
casions, and were therefore not so well acquainted with the manner 
of addressing the deities. Be this as it will, Balak sent messengers 
to Balaam, to come to him to curse a people he was much afraid 
of. The curse was perhaps some form of incantation, that was 
usual in these times, which ignorant people believed was powerful 
to hurt their enemies ;— yet might, for all that, be innocent enough 
to every person whatsoever, except the persons who used it. 

The king of Moab seerns to have had some confidence in 
Balaam's abilities, and also knew what would be the best excite- 
ment for him to exercise them. He promises him honours, and 
very liberal rewards. If the king of Moab was not well acquainted 
with the disposition of the deity, he seems to have known man- 
kind tolerably;— at least, he seems to have known Balaam's 
leading principle. Perhaps the prophet's character was well 
known, as a man that never chose to work for nothing; and 
Balak might learn this from report. 

The prophet seemed well disposed at first to serve the king of 
Moab for the considerations proposed to him, but had one objec- 
tion in his way,— that though he would, he could not get over it. 
It is likely, he had found by experience that there was a Supreme 
Agent, that upon occasions had interrupted the influence of his 
divinations; Him he wanted first to consult, lest upon trial he 
should come off with disgrace in the middle of his enterprise. 
He goes first to consult the Lord. 

When men go to ask the mind of the Almighty, with their 
hearts fully bent upon their own purposes, it is no great wonder 
if they receive an answer not quite favourable to their inclina- 
tions. God, who knows all things, well knew with what intention 
his supplicant at this time did address him ; — not with a full reso- 
lution to submit to his will, but with a desire that God would 
favour his designs at all events. He was forbidden to go with 
Balak's messengers; which was not a pleasing answer to a man 
that loved the wages of unrighteousness. Balak behaved towards 
the prophet as the prophet did towards his Maker — he tried him 
again. The king of Moab had indeed better reason to urge Balaam, 
than the prophet had to be instant with ihe Almighty. This 
covetous prophet had shewed his good inclination to serve him, but 
told him he could not:— and what did Balak know but the Deity 
might change his mind, and by importunity yield to Balaam's 
entreaties. The heathen notions of God differed but little from 
their notions of men. But Balaam knew that he had received an 
express answer in the negative, and behaved presumptuously in 
importuning his Maker. It would seem that he wanted to insult 



S3 SERMON III. 

his Maker into his design. He tries him again. Ah! what im- 
piety to ask what God had peremptorily refused ! But there was 
money and honour in the case, which to a mind like Balaam's 
were strong reasons of conduct. 

But it is wonderful that any man, not quite metamorphosed into 
a devil, could ask the Almighty for liberty to curse his own crea- 
tures. Such an address to God could not well be expected to re- 
ceive any other answer but a refusal. Will a good, gracious, and 
merciful God hear the prayers of a man that breathes nothing but 
curses and ruin to a people that had never injured him? Had 
this prophet been bishop of Rome, or a member of some modern 
associations, we might perhaps have concluded that he meant to 
save their souls by giving their flesh to the devil: but church 
authority was not likely then known in that eastern part of the 
world. Perhaps the church rulers in after^times took the hint 
from Balaam, in their excommunicating people they did not like, 
or were afraid of. The prophet's method of cursing would no 
doubt be pretended to be clothed with divine authority, and ac- 
counted a religious act among these eastern superstitious nations. 

The prophet was at last permitted to go with the messengers 
of the king of Moab, but with a restraint upon him that did not 
well suit his temper. Like all people who are vicious, if you 
once humour them, they aspire after more indulgence. Balaam 
expected, that as God had permitted him to go with Balak's 
messengers, that he would also allow him to do what he desired, 
when he came to the appointed place of exercise. But as he was 
not disposed to be obedient to the commandment of the Al- 
mighty, his Maker intended to teach him better behaviour by a 
severe reproof and disappointment. He sent his angel to resist 
him. who stood in his way, and intercepted his march. 

Mo doubt our prophet's heart was full of the hopes of the re- 
wards and honours that the king of Moab would advance him to, 
should he succeed in his enterprise. Perhaps he was telling over 
in his mind the large sums of money he should bring back with 
him,and the particular honours thatall theiprinces of Moab should 
confer upon him; and how all the men of the East should re- 
verence him, as one of the greatest intimates of the Divinity. No 
bishop that ever sat in convocation, perhaps had greater expec- 
tations than father Balaam; when, on a sudden, his ass started 
aside, and almost laid her rider in the dirt. The ass was frighted; 
and it was no wonder, for she saw what was invisible to her 
master--*' An angel stood in the wayT 

What this angel was clothed with, or what visive faculty was 
conferred upon the ass, I shall leave to the critics :-—but she saw 
something, which could not be a spirit, for divines say that they 
are invisible. But that's not all, she started again, and Went quite 
off her tract into the field. To interrupt a man in his journey, who 
was bent upon it, in hopes of coming back laden with riches and 
honour, was highly provoking. The offence was the greater, as 



TO ASSES. 



S9 



the prophet was ill haste : we cannot suppose him otherwise, for 
he loved the wages of unrighteousness. Again! there is no ac* 
counting for asses when they turn giddy;— she rushed against the 
wall ; and as the prophet seems to have ridden after the usual 
manner of prophets, we may easily suppose that one of his legs 
was in no good condition: " She crushed his foot against the 
wall. Truly this is no good omen; there is some reason to fear 
the issue of this affair. The ass is made to pay soundly for being 
so giddy. The prophet had a staff, which the ass would no doubt 
have remembered as long as she lived, had she not been an ass: — ■ 
he laboured her with it to bring her to a sense of her duty. The 
prophet seems to have been old, that he rode with a staff, otherwise 
he ought to have had a whip. The prophet grows serious, but the 
ass more so; she opened her mouth, as she had no doubt many 
times done before, but in a very different manner; she spoke b,y 
the immediate agency of heaven. It is said, " the Lord opened the 
mouth of the ass." The language of asses is very ready to surprise 
them that are not acquainted with it, as their dialect is none of the 
finest; but to speak in human style was enough to have frightened 
an}- man out of his senses. Perhaps any man but Balaam would 
have fainted; but his mind was too full of riches and honour to 
be easily affected. 

The prophet's ags spake like herself in all things but the style. 
" Am not I thine ass?" Poor humble creature! she had served 
him long enough for such a reward; he beat her, and told her if 
he had a sword he would kill her. Had she got the exercise of 
reason with the use of language, she would have undoubtedly 
changed her master, and left his service. The use of language, 
without a right exercise of reason, is not a very high attainment. 
An ass may speak, but is still an ass. Our ass's master was like 
many since his time, who forget good services for a very small 
offence: — nay, if strictly examined, it was a piece of faithful ser- 
vice, for it saved the prophet's life. How many have served their 
country faithfully for many years, that have been served like the 
prophet's ass — got blows and threatening for their service, instead 
of any reward or preferment ? Many invisible agents are watching 
the motions of the wicked and ungodly man; when he is riding 
post-haste to dishonour his Maker, though he does not see the invi- 
sible agent that withstands him, the animal that carries him may, 
by signatures we cannot account for. It is easy for one of these 
heavenly messengers to dismount the best rider that ever mounted 
a steed. When some merciless wretch is posting to fulfil the ends 
of his cruelty ; when some ambitious covetous usurer is riding full 
speed to receive the wages of unrighteousness, and to distress the 
widow and the fatherless, and is found dead at, his horse's feet; 
who knows but some of these invisible agents, out of pity to man- 
kind, are the instruments of vengeance upon these incorrigible 
sinners. 

The prophet's punishment as yet is not equal to his crime. He 

went 



40 



SERMON ill. 



went with a full purpose to curse a people whom the Almighty 
had blessed, if he would be so unmerciful as to let him. It was a 
mercy his neck was not in place of his foot; for he richly deserved 
to be punished for disobedience to his Maker, and his bad designs 
against his people. 

Such as are acquainted with the political reasons of the several 
prophets and teachers of mankind in some churches, do perhaps 
know, that when they took upon them to anathematize their bre- 
thren, they had the same reasons for their conduct that Father 
Balaam had— to get all the gain and honour by it they could. 
When men, for difference of opinion, denounce the curse of hea- 
ven against their brethren, there is some reason to suppose that 
there is something else at the bottom than a desire for the good of 
their souls. It is more likely that their own importance, and pri- 
vate interest and honour, are the reasons of their conduct. It 
has often cost nations considerable sums of money to get clear of 
the curse of the prophets. It seldom happens that such prophets 
as Balaam either bless or curse for nothing. The least thing that 
can be expected from such as take upon them to curse their bre- 
thren is, that they shew their commission from the Lord for so 
doing; otherwise we must hold them under the same predicament 
with Balaam, and call them false prophets. 

Balaam's conduct towards his ass is something like the conduct 
of religious and civil ministers towards the people they rule over; 
and the language of the ass, like the fruitless complaint of an 
enslaved people. Balaam had his ass saddled, and prepared for 
mounting, before he got on to ride. It requires some pains to 
prepare a people to bear a yoke of slavery and servitude. 

In matters of religious concern, it is necessary to have mankind 
well persuaded of the rights and importance of the clergy, and the 
divinity of the canons and creeds of churches, before they will 
submit to be used like asses. The jure divino of episcopacy and 
presbytery are pieces of trapping that the prophets of the church 
prepare for those asses they intend to ride upon. If once they 
can persuade mankind that the clergy have power to make laws to 
bind the consciences of the whole community, they may turn 
them as they please. 

If it would not give offence to some who have more zeal than 
understanding, I should compare the Articles of the church of Eng- 
land, and the Confession of Faith of the church of Scotland, to the 
trapping of Balaam's ass; for it is by means of these that the 
clergy ride upon the backs, of the people. The excommunica- 
tions of those churches I would compare to the prophet's staff, 
with which he belaboured his ass; for it is evident, when common 
Christians start aside, and begin to think for themselves, and are 
not tractable enough to serve their devote masters, that they curse 
them for heretics and schismatics. And though these common 
believers should be never so well convinced in their own mind of 
the truth of their own opinion, or conscience, like the angel in the 

case 



TO ASSES. 



41 



case before us, should stand in their way, it is no matter of con- 
sequence to the prophets that rule them,— they must suffer for 
their impertinence, and be laboured for their disobedience. The 
people in general, that thus submit to religious slavery, resemble 
the prophet's ass; for though they complain of hard usage, they 
still acknowledge their masters, and say, Are not we your 
asses ? 

There are several sorts of human asses that resemble the pro- 
phet's beast. There are some that start now and then, and re- 
prove the madness of the prophets, but yet continue under sub- 
jection, and are good beasts of burden notwithstanding. Of this 
sort are those who are always crying out against the defections of 
churches and church governors, but are subject at the same time 
to all those impositions that are laid upon them; these are braying, 
noisy, but yet tame asses,— they mean no harm, notwithstanding 
all the noise they make. They only start because they are a little 
frighted by some scarecrow that happens to be in their way. If 
their ghostly riders lift ' their rod, and but labour them a little 
sharply, they will be ready to make apologies for their conduct, 
and return to their duty. 

If conscience, the messenger of God within them, at any time 
startle them, as the angel did Balaam's ass, yet a degree of sound 
discipline, which may either affect their reputation or worldly in- 
terest, will make them return to their old track, and say, •* Are not 
we thine asses ?" The Articles or the church, and the Athanasiart 
creed, are like the two laps of Balaam's saddle, which are well 
girded upon some-members of the church, by the force of canons 
and the power of deprivation. Such as shall be so giddy as to re- 
fuse to take on their trapping peaceably, shall be made sensible of 
their folly, by being deprived of their livings, and loaded with 
church censures. 

It is by means of such trapping as this now mentioned, that the 
authority of the clergy is supported ; for they could not ride with- 
out their saddle. Were once the common people to receive no- 
thing as their creed but the Scriptures, the clergy would soon have 
no more authority than what their good services and good conver- 
sation procured them. They would then be obliged to be helpers 
of the joy of Christians, but should no longer be lords of their 
faith. Good men will always respect their teachers, as long as they 
are examples of goodness, and " condescend to men of low de* 
gree:" but such as understand the New Testament will reject all 
dominion over their consciences, but the lordship of Jesus Christ; 
they will laugh at clerical jurisdiction, and reject all religious dic- 
tators. When men have not (he exercise of private judgment al- 
lowed them as their natural privilege, but are marked down for 
heretics for every deviation from the national creed* they are 
much in the same situation with the prophet's ass* 

No Christians have any reason to quarrel with the religion of 
any country where toleration is allowed; but they have yet reason 

G to 



42 



SERMON III. 



to complain, when the toleration is restricted, and men's opinions 
are attended with loss to themselves, when they are both good 
members of society, and good subjects of civil government- Any 
Christian may charitably enough say, that all political religions 
serve no other purpose but to get honour and money from the 
state, and in return to denounce its curses against the supposed 
enemies of their mutual dignity. An enslaved people serve the 
same purpose to the clergy in this case, that the prophet's ass 
did to him — carry them to seek riches and honour; for it is always 
through means of the populace that ambitious men raise them- 
selves to high stations, and advance themselves to wealth and 
riches. Where the government of churches and states is arbitrary, 
the enslaved people are obliged to serve the interests of both with their 
labour and substance. The populace are made use of as asses, to 
carry them whithersoever they please to direct them. It often 
happens that they complain of ill usage which they receive from 
superiors; but as long as they have not a just sense of their own 
liberties, they proceed no farther than some fruitless complaints, 
and then conclude, " Are not we thine asses, upon which thou 
hast ridden ever since we were thine?" 

When mankind are once instructed in their natural rights and 
privileges, they will not only complain, but struggle to get clear 
of oppression. Wise men know what it is to obey just laws, but 
will never tamely submit to slavery and bondage. It is a base 
degeneracy to rest satisfied with what is contrary to nature ; and 
nothing is more contrary to the nature of rational creatures than 
to want liberty. To submit to arbitrary government, without re- 
sistance, argues the want of sense of the rights of human nature. 
Men may yield when they are conquered; but they cannot reason- 
ably acknowledge power to be just, where there is no moral institu- 
tion. When government is not established upon moral principles, 
but managed by the arbitrary power of one, or a few, at the ex- 
pence of the liberty of the rest of a community, their acknowledg- 
ment of that power is an obedience like that of the prophet's ass. 
The first slavery that men are generally brought under is that of 
the mind ; for while the mind acts freely, and is kept clear of the 
chains of ignorance and prejudice, it will be very difficult to enslave 
them. It requires the aid of false teachers to seduce mankind, 
before a state can deprive them of their civil privileges. It seems 
to be a fact, though I have not seen it often taken notice of, that 
the blending of civil and religious offices, or sacred and secular 
things, has been an introduction to slavery in all nations where 
arbitrary government has been introduced. Where they have 
been kept distinct, there freedom has more universally prevailed. 
It may seem a paradox, but it may be demonstrated, that if there 
were no alliance between church and state, there would be more 
civil and religious liberty than otherwise. 

When church officers are advanced to civil preferments, or civil 
magistrates allowed to discharge religious offices in the church, 

they 



TO ASSES. 



43 



they will be ready to make each of these offices subservient to the 
t^ncfs of secular interest, by having a double temptation laid in 
their way. The minister will be ready to assume the prerogative 
of the magistrate, and the magistrate to enforce the dignity of the 
minister, by exerting his authority in favour of the sacred func- 
tion, — and so in a double respect become lords over the people. 
For this reason men will not dare even to express the truth they 
are convinced of, should it seem to differ from the authorized reli- 
gion, because of a double danger they are exposed to; of being 
either heartily cursed by the priesthood, or severely punished by 
the magistracy. The mind, being thus cramped in her operations, 
turns at last servile in her affections ; the consequence is ignorance 
and bondage. 

This alliance also makes the teachers indolent in the discharge 
of the most material part of their duty, which is, to instruct men 
in the principles of knowledge, and to endeavour to free their 
minds from the power of ignorance. This they cannot do without 
first teaching them the rights of private judgment, and the liberty 
they have of judging for themselves in all things which respect 
the conscience. But when their advantage does not arise from 
their instructing mankind, but in keeping them ignorant of their 
true interest, they will seldom be disposed to teach them what 
would soon let them into the secrets of their policy. 

It will never appear to the supporters of the alliance between 
church and state to be advantageous to their scheme, to instruct 
men in the rights of private judgment and Christian liberty. Did 
men once understand their own liberties, the clergy would have no 
asses to ride upon, to carry them to riches and preferment. Were 
men once well instructed in their natural privileges, the alliance 
would soon come to nothing : for if mankind considered them- 
selves as all equally concerned with what pertained to their con- 
sciences, and that they must answer for themselves at the day of 
judgment, they would never give consent to an alliance, where 
the right of individuals to judge for themselves in matters of the 
last consequence is entirely taken away. When they submit to 
such religious slavery wilfully, they are not one degree better than 
Balaam's ass, who, although she complained, yet spoke with great 
submission to her master," Am not I thine ass, upon which thou 
hast ridden ever since I was thine?" As I intend to continue 
this subject in another discourse, I shall here conclude, and say, 
Amen. 



SERMON 



SERMON IV, 



SERMON IV. 

Numbers, xxii. 30. 

Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I 

tvas thine? 

/^|NE could have expected no better language from an ass. It 
%r is a pity any reasonable creatures should imitate such a mean- 
spirited and servile animal ;— — all the dupes of arbitrary power that 
submit to slavery, civil or religious, have a thousand times uttered 
words of the same import. Time has been, when this language 
was brayed out of pulpits, and squeezed through the press, by the 
patrons of passive obedience and non-resistance. Who can make 
any thing else of such words as these-—" It is not lawful to iesist 
the king, nor any commissioned by him, upon any pretence what- 
soever;" but, Are not we thine asses? It is also bringing men under 
the same predicament to subject their consciences to any power 
but that of God Almighty. "$Vhen they are obliged, under the 
pain of civil losses or chuFch censure, to subscribe to whatever 
the leaders of religion prescribe to them, is it npt making them 
utter the language of the prophet's ass, Are not we thjne asses? 

I observed before, that creeds in the church are made use of by 
the principal clergy in the same manner as the trapping of Ba- 
laam's ass, — to keep the rest in due subjection, that the riders may 
sit easy. I am now going to give my reasons. This appears evi- 
dent, because they keep the reins in their own hand, and pretend 
a right to fix this trapping upon all officers they admit into the 
church. 

It is not every one that can demand this security, or that are 
accounted judges how to saddle such asses, — but only those who 
Jay claim to the office of master of the ceremonies in the church. 
Suppose a teacher was never so well qualified to instruct mankind, 
and understood religion as well as any bishop in convocation, and 
was the choice of a congregation, yet he cannot be admitted till he 
Jiumbly submit to the rulers of the church, and say, " Am not I 
thine ass?" As the common people had never any hand in fram- 
ing these creeds and articles, nor was their consent ever asked, it 
seems plain that they have only been framed for the benefit of the 
clergy i If this sort of trapping were not more to their advantage 
jthan the rest of mankind, I apprehend they would not be so zealous 
in supporting them ; for in nothing do they excel the rest of the 
nation so much, as in zeal for the canons and articles of the church. 
It is evident, they mean no more by them than a saddle to ride 
■upon ; for in very momentous cases they visibly differ from them. 
It would much puzzle a stranger, that was unacquainted with the 

church 



TO ASSES. 



45 



church of England's policy, to form a judgment of her principles, 
by comparing her articles and creeds with the most famous 
printed sermons of her bishops and clergy; for though her arti- 
cles be very Caivinistic, the greatest part of sermons and religious 
discourses look much another way. 

This sort of religious machinery serves all the purposes that 
the public actors in this political drama mean by it, which is, 
to serve the part of a scene in the time of public action, and then 
be withdrawn till some other public occasion. They do not 
consider it as of any use in private life; otherwise every subscri- 
ber would make conscience of preaching the same doctrine in 
their sermons that they subscribe" in the articles. One thing 
is certain, that either their creeds and articles are wrong, or 
their sermons and religious books in general are so. And one 
would most readily conceive, that if they believed what they 
had subscribed in the articles, they would never publish the 
reverse to the world. For this reason I compare them to the 
trapping of the prophet's ass, which was only necessary when 
be intended to ride. Whenever the clergy are disposed to 
exercise their authority, they do it by means of these standards: 
to these they appeal upon occasions, and the laws that authorize 
them, but never unless to support their own consequence and 
dignity. On all other occasions they observe them as little as 
other men. They hang by their trapping till they have some 
ass to saddle. 

A late champion for creeds and confessions, and the alliance 
between church and state, finds great difficulty to make use of 
the Scripture without them, and cannot see how congregations 
can make a confession of their faith with only the Scripture In 
their hand, so fully as the duty requires. To be sure, if it is 
not in some measure in their hearts, I doubt much if the 
matter will be right; yet I should like the Scriptures rather 
better in my hand or heart, than either the Articles or the Atha- 
nasian creed. The apostle saw no manner of difficulty in 
what seems so difficult to this gentleman, when he tells Timothy 
that they " are profitable for all things, to make the man of God 
perfect" After this, where lies the difficulty? Ttuy perhaps 
may not agree to make the members of tiie kingdoms of this 
world perfect in the sense they would be perfect, but they 
answer all purposes to make them perlect before God, which 
one would think sufficient. Timothy is by some writers called 
the bishop of Ephesus: — the Scriptures were sufficient to make 
him perfect, and one might suppose they could answer the same 
purpose to any other bishop. 

I am perhaps wrong here; for I had forgot that Timothy was 
an overseer of a single congregation, and preached the gospel as 
an evangelist; was instant in season and out of season, and in 
all things did the work of an evangelist. The Scriptures might 
answer his purpose, who was no higher than a self-denied minis- 
ter 



46 



SERMON IV. 



ter of Jesus Christ, but may not answer the same end to a rich 
diocesan. 

Large creeds and articles are something like large grammars, 
they help to supply the negligence of the teachers -but disci- 
ples would learn more knowledge from the original sources, if 
the beauties were carefully pointed out to them, than from these 
subsidies of human indolence. Were the teachers of righteous- 
ness employed in pointing out the excellencies and beauties of 
revelation, and engaged in offering the evidence of it to persuade 
others, it would answer a betier purpose than to impose human 
dogmas that bear not the least resemblance to Scripture. 

It is alleged in behalf of creeds, " that a general knowledge 
of religion is more easily propagated and kept up among the 
people by means of them." If we may judge from experience 
of the truth of this affirmation, it will be found to be by no 
means true: for ignorance of religion abounds most where 
these are most zealously adhered to. And let any man try 
the experiment when he has a mind, he will find that those 
people who read the Scriptures, and hold by them, have much more 
knowledge of religion than the most zealous devotees of creeds 
and articles. 

One cannot but be sorry to find our Saviour brought in as 
a patron for modern creed-making: for we are told, that he 
hath sanctified the use of them by his own repeated practice; 
because he demanded a confession of faith from such as he 
intended to confer any signal favour upon, and often said, 
" Believest thou this?" 

Our Saviour, no doubt, required a confession of faith from 
whom he had a mind, as the King in his church, and the Lord of 
the consciences, and always required them to believe in himself 
as both the object and author of faith. But the practice of our 
Saviour in this particular is no argument for human creeds. It 
may perhaps be an argument for requiring a belief in the Scrip- 
tures, but can be none for requiring our assent to human compo- 
sitions. Besides, we are told by the same author, that such con- 
fessions were introductions to miracles, and must have ceased long 
ago, as miracles have done. Taking the argument for creeds in his 
own way, he must either give up the practice of creed-making, or 
work miracles. Whatever plausible arguments may be offered for 
church power, and the alliance between church and state, yet after 
they are brought to their height, they end in infidelity. 

The author above referred to, in stating a comparison between 
the power of the legislator in civil and religious affairs, affirms, 
" That the legislator in religious societies is bound to observe the 
great charter of Christian liberty, and never to depart from the 
principles which it contains. But, always following the spirit 
of that, he is at liberty to makes laws suited to many new cases 
which it had not provided for." Be astonished, reader ! New 
cases in religion which the word of God hath not provided for! 

What 



TO ASSES. 



47 



What are these? They must be cases which do not belong to 
the purity and perfection of believers. What could any infidel 
have said more ? This is giving up the perfection of the Scrip- 
tures at once, and giving to the civil magistrate a power to make 
up its deficiency. 

But we are told, " To such a power men must submit, or they 
must give up the benefit of society in religion. A reader of the 
New Testament will see no occasion for this. The benefits of 
society in religion do not depend upon power, but upon will. 
Men that are truly religious have all the benefits of society they 
desire, and they need no power to make them good members in 
society, but the power of truth. If by the benefits of society in 
religion be meant large benefices, and emoluments secured to 
them by the power of the magistrate, these Christians do not 
expect, but leave them to the children of the kingdoms of this 
world, or whom they may concern. All they want is permission 
and toleration to serve God in their own way, according to the 
dictates of their own consciences, as the word of God directs 
them. 

But we are told, " as single Christians, or individuals, they 
may enjoy the right of judging for themselves, or the right of 
private judgment in its fullest extent ; and each may pursue his 
own opinions without controul, whilst each with a Bible in his 
hand is a church to himself." But then says the author, " What 
chance is there that the knowledge of religion should long sur- 
vive on this footing, where no provision is made for instructing 
the people in their faith and duty, and where every one is left to 
pursue at his will the cares and pleasures of this life, without 
any stated call to think of religion."* The great emphasis in 
this paragraph rests on the word provision. The author judges 
very right, as times go; for there are none of the clergy, however 
rich they are, will undertake to instruct mankind without some 
provision for doing it. But yet, after all, one would think his 
fears very needless, " that men will grow ignorant of religion 
when they have the use of the Bible." " But though they have 
the Bible, they have not a stated call to use it, without a suffi- 
cient provision to excite them to it." And where is the virtue 
of all this? To serve God only for money. This is the way to 
make hypocrites and pharisees, but not to make Christians. But 
may not Christians make provision for themselves, that they shall 
be instructed, by choosing from among themselves fit and quali- 
fied persons to preside in their worship, and support them by 
their own liberality, if the state will not support them without 
bringing them under its power. But then our author will tell 
us, " that all the advantages of public and social religion must be 
lost, or it must be men's duty to join in society for obtaining of 
those advantages."f The advantages of society can never be 

* Eisay on Establishments, p. 63. f Ibid. 

lost, 



43 



SERMON IV. 



lost, when men endeavour to edify one another in love, upon the 
principles of the gospel. They may lose those advantages that 
increase pride, and promote luxury, which to pharisees will be 
accounted the greatest loss, but to them is no loss at all, but 
what they have laid their account with. We are told, and with 
great propriety, that for obtaining those advantages, this 
necessarily leads to the appointment of a power to provide for 
the wants of society, one of the chief of which is the means of 
public instruction in the truths of religion. Fit persons must be 
appointed to convey these instructions; and if fit persons, then 
there must be some to judge of their fitness."* T his power is 
only necessary to secure those advantages our author has all along 
in his view. Where must this power be lodged ? Or who are 
the proper persons to judge of men's fitness to teach and edify 
one another? There can be no power appointed but what is 
already appointed by Jesus Christ, who has plainly in his gospel 
told us what sort of persons they must be that assume this office 
of teaching. They must be self-denied believers, and the servants 
of all; — possessed of no power, but that of helping the joy of 
Christians. The church hath a better security for her instruction 
than any power appointed by human device. The promise of 
God secures to her all needful instructions. This author ac- 
knowledges that the providence of God may keep alive a sense 
of religion in the minds of men ; but he says, " we are not 
taught so to depend upon his providence."f But I hope we may 
safely depend upon his promise, and are commanded to do so. 
Such as trust the promise of God will see no cause to appoint a 
power to provide for their instruction, which Jesus Christ and his 
Apostles have no where given to any order of men since their 
time. 

It would appear that our dignified church guides do account 
us asses indeed, — who think that we cannot know the way of 
religion pointed out in the Scriptures without their manufacture. 
This much may be said to their praise, that common Christians 
are more obliged to any common schoolmaster that learneth 
them to read, than to them. A Christian is not much to mean 
that has the Bible in his hand; and, without any derogation from 
their dignity, may learn more out of it, by a careful perusal, than 
from all the waggon loads of divinity the world hath been 
blessed with since the council of Nice. 

With regard to that power that is supposed to be given to 
some select worthy persons, in the use of which they take care 
of the instruction of mankind, it may be asked, whether those 
who confer it have not a right to take it from them, in case it 
should not be exercised for those purposes for which it was 
granted ? Suppose a teacher hath three or four different livings 
conferred upon him, is he not engaged to teach and instruct the 

• Ibid. p,63. f Ibid. 

several 



TO ASSES. 



49 



several congregations they belong to? And is it possible he can 
do this in his own person ? And if he cannot, who gave him a 
right to do it by proxy ? Christians would certainly expect some 
warrant for such a practice from the word of God. If any pre- 
tend that they have power to do it, we would also want to under- 
stand if it is founded injustice. It cannot be supposed that a 
congregation of Christians are like a man's children, whom he 
has a right to appoint a tutor over, as not being yet fit to choose 
for themselves ; for they are supposed to be persons of under- 
standing, and church members; and no man can choose their 
pastors for them but themselves. It is supposing them to be 
asses to do otherwise. 

This supposed power is* far from answering the end it is as- 
sumed for; for if fact and experience can be any proof of any 
thing answering or not answering its end, it is plain that in some 
places of the nation, the people are quite ignorant of the first 
principles of religion. If there were schoolmasters in the place 
of another sort of teachers, to teach the common people to read 
the Scriptures, and to point out their excellencies to them, there 
would be more religious knowledge in several parts of the nation 
than there is. When any power does not answer the end it is 
assumed for, it ought to cease, upon the very principles it is 
dssumed. But when it is assumed without any warrant from the 
word of God, it ought never to be acknowledged. 

Though our Saviour plainly declared before Pontius Pilate* 
that his kingdom is not of this world, there have been some late 
attempts made to prove that it is; and we are told that oue 
Lord's testimony does not prove that Caesar had no right to 
interfere in religious matters. Caesar might interfere with any 
religion that pertained to the kingdoms of this world as he had 
a mind; but how could he interfere in a kingdom that was not 
of this world? It lay altogether beyond his jurisdiction. Our 
Saviour could not have spoken in more express terms that Caesar 
had nothing to do with his kingdom, than by saying that it did 
iiot pertain to this world ; for he had' jurisdiction in no kingdoni 
but in such as pertained to it. 

It has been several times affirmed, that our Lord's testimony 
before Pontius' Pilate does not decide the right of the magis- 
trate's power over the church. But let this testimony be con- 
sidered as common sense would direct any plain man to under- 
stand it : " JesuS answered, My kingdom is not of this world, 
then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to 
the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate 
therefore said unto him, Art th6u a king then? Jesus answered. 
Thou sayest that lama king : to this end was I born, and for this 
cause Oame I into the world, that I should bear witness of the 
truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." 

Any one may observe at first view here, that Christ confessefh 
himself to be a king, and that he had a kingdom: that his 

H? kingdom? 



so 



SERMON IV. 



kingdom is not of this world. Whatever kind of kingdom this 
may be, no magistrate can have any jurisdiction over it, without 
being considered a king above Christ. If Caesar had any juris- 
diction over the church, to govern it, then Christ could not be 
king in that kingdom, but Csesar. At least it must be supposed 
that Cassar, or the civil magistrate, whoever he is, has power over 
the church, either with Christ's leave, or without it. If without 
Christ's leave and order, th^en is the magistrate the head of the 
church ; but if with his leave, then this should be produced from 
the New Testament. It is a reflection that both our Saviour's 
testimony and the nature of the thing doth suggest, that there 
can be no authority, either in or over his church, but what he 
hath appointed by his own authority. If the magistrate have 
any power over the church, he must shew his instructions for it 
from Him who says he is king, and for that end came into the 
world. 

It is affirmed, " If human power be in any degree necessary 
for the government of the church, that power must be left in the 
hands of the civil magistrate, to whom all human power naturally 
belongs, and to whom our Lord here declares, that he leaves it 
in its full extent*." 

But this conclusion is ruined with an if; for human power has 
no more to do with the government of the church of Christ, than 
the ministers of Christ's church have to be civil magistrates, 
And they have no more connexion with one another, than the 
kingdoms of this world have with the kingdom of heaven. 
Christ says, he came into the world, and was born to be a king; 
and affirms, that his kingdom was not of this world. If he is 
king, then all the laws by which his church is governed must be 
of his own making; for he admits no partners with himself in 
legislation. He that adds to or diminisheth from the laws he 
bath made, are guilty in his sight. The truths contained in the 
divine record are the laws by which he rules the consciences of 
bis people, and they cannot be subject to any human legislation 
in matters of religion. Even the Christian's obedience to 
magistrates, as governors of civil society, is founded upon ex- 
press Scripture precept: "Let every soul be subject to the 
higher powers f. n And it is because Christ, by his Apostles, com- 
manded Christians to be obedient to magistrates, that they are 
bound to obey them, and not because they themselves require it. 
So little power have magistrates over the church of God, to 
govern it, or make laws in it, that they have not even a title to 
civil reverence from Christians, but what is founded upon Christ's 
authority. 

And may I not ask these zealous promoters of the power of 
the magistrate over the church, where do they find in the New 
Testament either precept or example for blending civil and 

* Essay on Establishments, p. 69. f Eom, xiii. 1. 

' ' sacked 



TO ASSES* 51 

sacred things after this manner? What signifies what Hooker or 
all the men of the world say, if their sentiments are not founded 
upon the sacred oracles? They can never have any weight 
among Christians. They may, like the traditions of the Jews, 
serve the purpose of the Pharisees and Scribes of national 
churches, to blind the minds of the ignorant, and by that means 
keep them in subjection to their ghostly guides. But this will 
appear, to all who learn their religion from the Bible, of no more 
consequence than the trapping of Balaam's ass. 

It is no less than absurd to reason from Christ's spiritual power 
In the church to the power of God in civil society, and imagine 
that men are equally deprived of liberty to make alterations, or 
allowed to aster, in each of these kingdoms. The cases are quite 
different; Christ hath fiven a perfect system of all doctrines and 
duties that relate to the salvation of men's souls, and revealed all 
things that pertain to the conscience, that every man may judge 
for himself concerning those matters that they must answer for 
at the day of judgment, as matters immediately respecting their 
faith and obedience to God himself. The laws of civil society 
have only a respect to the bodies of men, and cannot extend be- 
yond what pertains to the body. The two kingdoms are just as 
different as the interests of men's souls and bodies are; and the 
nature and spirit of the laws of each society are as different 
from one another as body and spirit. 

There is a memorable passage in the above-mentioned " Essay 
on Establishments," which shews the distress of the author to 
form his political image of iron and clay:—" They who, in 
defence of religious establishments, require a gospel precedent, 
require what the nature of the thing does not admit of. The 
gospel contains the history only of the divine original of our 
religion, and leaves it before it had formed any human con- 
nexions. How then can the gospel furnish an example of such 
connexion, or how can the want of the example be an argument 
against the connexion ?" 

This is a fair confession that there is no example of establish-' 
merits in the. New Testament-, but perhaps as strange a reason is 
given for this defect as ever entered into the heart of man to 
conceive :-*-** The gospel history falls short, and comes not so 
far down as the forming of human connexions, and leaves the 
matter unfinished." But the question is not, Whether the gospel 
history of churches leaves religion before it formed connexions 
with the world, but whether it leaves it before it was perfect > 
It would appear, that as this history mentions none of these 
connexions, the author of it intended there never should be any. 
If there is not a perfect account of religion in the gospel 
history, it is hard to say where we shall find any. And 
it is a sad reflection upon the wisdom of its author to say, 
it is deficient in such a momentous matter as the very constitu- 
tion of a church. We have as whimsical a reason given, why 

there 



SERMON IV. 

there is tip precept concerning this point in the New Testament 
The author tells us, " it would have been useless." For men^ 
iio doubt, were wise enough to understand, " that they might 
safely enjoy peace under the protection of government, and to 
unite their endeavours with it for the public good." But may 
not men enjoy the protection of government, and live peaceably,, 
without joining together what Christ hath appointed to be kept 
distinct ? Common sense will indeed teach men that they 
should enjoy peace, when they can have it with a safe con- 
science, and live as good subjects under any government that 
permits them to live, and use their Christian privileges; and the 
Scripture teacheth the same thing: bu't this does not say that 
they are at liberty to confound civil and religious matters. As 
subjects of civil government, they are to mix with society* do the 
duties of men under the regulation of civil policy; but as 
Christians, they have another Lord, and are governed by a policy 
quite different. As members of a commonwealth, they will 
be willing to pay Caesar his due, and pray for all that have 
authority over them ; the more so that they are Christians. 
But in all matters of religion and conscience that are imposed; 
upon then), they will say, " Whether is it lawful to obey God 
or man ? judge ye." They will be ready to submit to Providence, 
and suffer, when they cannot prevail with men in power to let 
them alone, but Will never comply at the expence of truth and 
conscience. 

All that lies within the power of the civil magistrate is, to 
protect all his subjects in the exercise of that religion they choose 
for themselves; and as long as they continue good subjects, to 
give them his protection. But he has no right to interfere in di- 
recting men in their choice of religion, but to choose his own. 

I do freely confess, that the magistrate has an undoubted 
right even to make choice of a religion to those that submit 
to be his creatures, and have no visible existence as church 
members in any church but a political one. As they are his 
servants that he pays for presiding over the religion of the 
state, it is but reasonable that he should choose work for his 
own servants. The magistrate has no doubt a right to dispose 
of the revenues of the state for the use of government, and 
those who are inclined to dispose of their religion for jsome 
of its profits may make the best bargain they can; — but if, 
by any unlawful combination betwixt the magistrate and his 
clergy, any nomber of the subjects are unjustly oppresssed, 
they have the greatest reason to complain, and say they are 
not free. 

This connexion between the civil magistrate and his servants 
has been called by the pompous name of an alliance between 
church and state :-*-but the word church has been very unjustly 
applied to one of the parties in this alliance. The New 
Testament signification of the word church extendeth to ail 

professed 



TO ASSES. 



5a 



professed believers of the gospel ; and one would readily conceive 
there could be no alliance without the consent of every church 
member. The commons in England, unless such as are patrons, 
have nothing to say in the election of their pastors. The 
clergy frequently elect one another, and are sure to choose 
such as are well-disposed to the alliance. The magistrate 
has also the power of presenting many of them, and leaves 
it to the clergy to elect them by a conge d'elire, which to be 
sure the members of such a profitable alliance will take care 
to supply with good trusty fellows of their own sentiments. 

This is only an alliance between the king and his clergy, 
or between the civil government and such as are hired to be 
its servants. This can never justly deserve the name of an 
alliance between church and state,, for the greatest part of 
church members have none to represent them in the consti- 
tution of the alliance. 

It was observed already, that this alliance is the principal 
cause of civil and religious oppression wherever it takes place. 
The members of the alliance on the side of the church take 
care that none enjoy any of her emoluments, without engaging 
to be tools of state; and the members on the side of the 
state take care that none be preferred to any office under 
the crown, without engaging to be the servants of the church. 
Before such engagements were entered into, in which the 
whole nation were concerned, not only as to civil interest, 
but as to conscience, it would have been but reasonable that 
all the members of the church and state should have been 
consulted. The clergy in parliament cannot be said to repre- 
sent the church, unless they were elected by all the commu- 
nicants in England, and have no right to fix laws upon them 
without their consent. Where is the reason of men taking 
upon them to represent people without their consent, and 
impose laws upon them which they never would have agreed 
to if they could have hindered them? In this alliance all the 
common Christians in England are considered as so many asses 
for the bishops and their clergy to ride upon to riches and 
preferment. They first enter into an alliance without their 
advice, and take upon them to be their teachers without 
consulting them, and then they join in making laws to cause 
them to pay for their service, without so much as ever giving 
them notice till they are called to pay. And, what is worst 
of all, though they make them pay soundly^ for their taking 
upon them the name of their teachers, yet they never are at 
the pains to fulfil the duties of that character. In this alliance 
the church signifies no more but the clergy, and the Hate the 
richest men in the nation. The two parties, to serve their 
own private interest, join in oppressing the community, in 
laying on taxes to pay the pensions of the tools of this 
alliance. 

Thece 



H SERMON IV. 

There is some reason to suppose, that if there were not some 
considerable worldly advantages and emoluments arising from this 
alliance to these holy men, that are so earnest in joining with 
the state, that it would get leave to bear its own weight, for any 
.assistance it would receive from them. There are a good number 
of people that would join interests with such as are ready to pay 
some thousands a year for receiving nothing. Balaam loved to 
join with the king of Moab, but he was first informed of great 
honour and riches; and there is the greatest reason to think he 
would never have saddled his ass, had he not had the expectation 
and promise of wealth and dignity. Were there not so many 
honours and advantages attending this famous alliance, one 
might venture to prophesy there would be few clergymen in it. 

It is near about as ill-spent money that the government lay 
out upon the dignified clergy for this alliance, as the charges 
Balak laid out upon Balaam in carrying him away to curse the 
children of Israel. The one does not answer the purpose it is said 
to be designed for, more than the other. If all that money that 
is spent upon priests in England be designed to maintain teachers 
to instruct the people in the principles of religion and loyalty, 
one might venture to say it might be all saved. If there be any 
reason to judge from facts, it can be very easily made appear, 
that the people are as wise, religious, and loyal to the govern- 
ment, who bear the expence of their own religion, and pay their 
own teachers, as any that are under the nose of any bishop in 
England. Should the government see meet to lighten the 
taxes a little, that bear hard upon the poor, and supply their 
place with dean and chapter lands, and the superfluities of the 
dignified clergy, I should venture to pronounce, the subjects 
would be as wejl instructed as they are, and as good sup- 
porters of civil government. 

When men are truly instructed in the truths of the Scrip- 
tures, and taught to read them constantly, there will be no 
reason to fear that they will be bad members of society. 
It is in places where the Scriptures are neglected, or concealed 
from the common people, that they are barbarous, ignorant, and 
rebellious. Perhaps it might be affirmed, that heresies would 
overflow the land, if there were not church authority and 
spiritual courts. From this I see no danger, but from ignorance 
of the word of God. There does not appear to be a better 
method for expelling heresy, than by teaching truth; and we 
can find it no where better taught than in the Bible. And sup- 
pose the church of England had as much power as ever the 
church of Rome pretended to, what effect could it have upon 
the consciences of men, unless they were first determined by 
evidence, and then there would be no occasion for any other 
power. It appears from church history, that there never were 
so many heresies till churchmen pretended to have power to 
expel them ; not by church authority only, but by calling in the 



TO ASSES. 



55 



«id of the secular arm to help them. The Apostles gave orders 
to reject heretics, but never to fine, persecute, or kill them. 
They left them in possession of all the civil rights of men and 
citizens, though they refused them their communion. They 
Rever told us, that at any time it would be lawful, when magis- 
trates became Christians, to call upon their aid to persecute them, 
but left them to the judgment of the great day. They had a 
method of preventing and taking away heresy, which after-times 
thought insufficient. They offered all the evidence they could 
to persuade men of truth, and when they would not listen to it, 
they left them to the judgment of the Almighty. When any in 
their communion departed frGm the truth, they denied them 
their Christian fellowship, but never either persecuted them 
themselves, nor desired others to do it. 

To teach men from the Scriptures, and put them in -mind of 
the truths contained in them, and leave them to judge for them- 
selves, is all that any teacher can or ought to do ; and expe- 
rience may teach the world, that Christians can never be edified, 
but where they choose their own teachers. Such as they em- 
ploy for this purpose they should pay themselves; and where 
the people really do this, it will be found that they have no want 
of any alliance with the state for the support of religion ; nor 
does the government find any loss with regard to the instruction 
of its subjects. Where religion is taught in its simplicity, 
there every soul is more likely to be subject to the higher 
powers for conscience sake, than where teachers are above their 
business, and neglect to instruct the people in the knowledge of 
the Scriptures. If we may judge of the cause by its effects, 
there is not much can he said in behalf of this alliance, from 
the usefulness of it to mankind; for, except among people of 
rank and learning, which are not obtained by means of the 
clergy, there is not as little knowledge among any Protestants, 
as among the common people of England. Multitudes cannot 
read the Scriptures, nor have they the least understanding about re- 
ligion, any more than to know a church from any other building. 
And I dare affirm it safely, that even in proportion to numbers, 
that there are twenty for one of those members of the church of 
England. How can it be otherwise, where men have three or 
four livings, and substitute any man they can hire cheapest to 
take care of the souls of the parishioners ? Were the people 
instructed in the Scriptures regularly, and taught to read them 
distinctly through, they would receive some edification; but, ex- 
cept some lessons here and there, they never hear any thing about 
them. Instead of expounding large portions of the Scriptures, 
to let the people see their beauties, and the duties that are 
largely scattered through the whole, the teachers generally 
please themselves with harangues, which they call sermons, 
that for the most part have no relation to them. 

It will perhaps be inferred from what has been just now said, 

I that 



SERMON IV. 



that I want to overturn the constitution of church and tftate 
altogether. Far from it. If we admit the present established 
church of England to be a part of the civil constitution, I find 
no fault with her: I believe she is as good as any other of the 
kind, and could not give place to a better. But then! would 
not have her to pretend to be what she is not, a New-Testament 
church. She may be necessary to political government, and may 
serve the same purpose to the state that any political church ever 
did; and I make no doubt but archbishops and bishops, and 
their clergy, are as useful tor the English government, as the 
Roman Pontifex Maximus, with all the tribe of his clergy, were 
to the Roman. The Christian religion is as much concerned 
with the one as the other. 

As the Apostles of Jesus Christ never found any fault with 
the civil government of Rome, nor interfered with the state 
religion, farther than by telling them that pleased to hear them 
that it was idolatry, nor gave themselves any trouble concerning 
it, except when the civil power wanted them to comply with 
their worship, which they never would do; so the followers of 
the Apostles ought to imitate them, and suffer the state to have 
what religion it pleaseth, providing it does not impose it upon 
them. If, indeed, that part of the civil constitution called the 
church seek to impose its worship and rituals, by authority, 
upon those who cannot in conscience observe them, they have 
an undoubted right to give their reasons why they cannot, and 
may safely affirm their reasons are such, whatever they are*- 
There is no warrant in the New Testament for any party to im- 
pose their religion upon another; nor have Christians any right 
to say that a state should conform to them. But when they are 
called to give the reasons of their non-conformity, they have no 
cause to be ashamed or afraid to do it. 

AVhen any establishment makes laws to compel non-conformists 
to comply with the political religion, upon the pain of loss or ; 
suffering, it is a plain evidence it is not a New-Testament church; 
for in the Christian religion there is no compulsion. If the pre- 
sent national religion be essential to civil government in England, 
it seems abundantly evident that none should be admitted to 
any share in the government, but such as are of that communion. 
But then they ought not to be called by authority to exercise 
any offices under it, when their consciences will not allow them 
to" observe the requisites* that are needful to qualify them. 
Churches established by law are not even satisfied with enjoying 
all the profits of their settlement, unless they can bring other 
people to defile their consciences, by endeavouring to compel 
them to do what they believe to be sinful. 

It is supposing non-conformists to be worse than asses, to en- 
deavour to compel them to serve in offices* both civil and reli- 
gious, where they must at first instance join in worshipping God 
ia a w ay their consciences remonstrate against. When men are 

allowed 



TO ASSES. 5f 

allowed to have their own method of religion, and are not com- 
pelled to any thing against their consciences, they have no reason 
to find fault with the established religion. But when they are 
compelled to support it by their means, and forced to comply 
with its rituals, or suffer loss, they have certainly reason to com- 
plain of want of Christian liberty. 

The leaders of religion do certainly account Dissenters infidels, 
or intend to make them so, when they endeavour to make 
them conform to modes of worship they can see no autho- 
rity for in the word of God. This shews something like a 
stated purpose to ruin both their souls and bodies. The 
Apostle tells us, that he that doubteth is damned if he eat; 
and non-conformists have this alternative — to eat and be damned, 
or forbear and be punished. 

If the alliance between church and state make it lawful for 
the church to impose her principles and worship upon Dissenters, 
upon the same principle it will be lawful for any church what- 
soever to oblige all Dissenters to comply, or punish them less or 
more. If this be a good principle, the Protestants in France 
have no reason to complain of Roman Catholic imposition, — r 
when a church of their own persuasion does the same thing. 

There are many simple slavish asses among Dissenters, who 
can, without any hesitation, conform to the church, and take on 
their burdens for some smalt worldly advantage,— or, to please 
their friends, profanely tamper with their consciences. Some of 
them, who have got near the top of the fashion, are coming every- 
day nearer to embrace their old mother, notwithstanding that 
they have so often said that she hath played the harlot; and many 
of them seem to have little other objection against her, but that 
she is not yet far enough departed from the truth. From some 
aversion they have conceived at the articles and creeds of the 
church, for their supposed likeness to Scripture, they rave against 
them, but from no other principle but their enmity at the New 
Testament, which through some mistake they conceive them to 
be like. They have still a strong inclination to go to heaven 
within the trammels of a liturgy; and some of them have of late 
been making zealous attempts to bring in organs into their meet- 
ings, that they may have as wanton a way of worshipping their 
Maker, as their neighbours of the establishment. These well- 
refined Dissenters seem to agree with the establishment in 
thinking that the Almighty should be worshipped after the 
Jewish manner; and seem disposed to make the New Testament 
conform to the Old, as decently as they can. Perhaps, after some 
little consideration, they may agree to introduce circumcision, as ; 
well as they have done white robes, altars, and organs. They 
would find some asses that would submit. 

If the civil powers would be so condescending as to make a 
law for circumcision, and annex emoluments to it, the prophets 
of the church would do their best endeavours to train asses to 

submit 



/ 



SERMON IV. 



submit to the slavery. But as the pain would be most likely 
more than a counterpart to the profit, and the priesthood them- 
selves could not decently neglect to observe a religious ordinance 
established by law, it is highly probable this piece of church 
reformation will remain unattempted, among the rest of the 
things the people are not yet ripe for. 

I shall conclude with observing, that there is scarce a man 
that assumes the character of a prophet, but will find plenty of 
asses among the people to answer his purpose. Though Balaam 
and his ass are dead many years ago, yet their offspring are very 
numerous. But who would think that any of this character 
could be found in Britain, the very toast of the nations for pre- 
tensions to freedom and liberty? Yet true it is, that there are 
many false prophets, and many asses, in this free nation. 

Even here we shall find slaves in abundance: here we shall 
find men called freeholders bearing civil burdens, like Is^achar, 
through their own slothfulness and want of spirit : here we may 
find men who are called Free-Thinkers giving up their liberty, 
and conforming to other men's creeds, at the expence of their 
own consciences: here you may find offices appointed by spi^ 
ritual authority to break the stubborn and perverse temper of 
untractable asses, under the management of the sons of Balaam, 
■who have in custody all the trapping that is fit to keep them in 
order. In Britain you may find some burdened with taxes, 
some with articles of religion, some with creeds, and others with 
oaths and covenants; and upon the top of these burdens, on 
purpose to rule their asses, always some of Balak's or Balaam's 
children sitting; and these poor humble creatures, at every 
threatening of their tyrannical masters, after they have started a 
little, returning and saying, Are not we thine asses, upon which 
thou hast ridden ever since we were thifief 



THE END OF SERMONS TO ASSES. 



ADDITIONAL SERMON 



NOT INCLUDED IN THE FIRST EDITION OF 



SERMONS TO ASSES, 



SERMON V. 



Genesis, xviii. 28. 



And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. 
PHIS was a number perhaps too large to be expected so near 



A a king's court — for they are righteous persons that are un- 
derstood here, as we learn from verse 24 — but far too few for 
such a iarge city as Sodom. If this city was any thing near as 
large as London or Paris, there could not be fewer than five 
hundred thousand souls in it; and to have no more righteous 
persons in it than forty and five, was a melancholy circumstance. 
One would willingly wish there had been more, for their own 
sakes. Perhaps it is the court that is meant, and not the whole 
community. In this sense forty and five would be a great num- 
ber of righteous persons in such a situation. There have been 
fewer in more splendid courts since the days of Sodom. There 
were but two in the court of king Ahasuerus — the queen and her 
uncle, and both foreigners too. 

When one reads this passage of holy writ, they would willingly 
wish to find this number, and have the city preserved. But, alas! 
the fourth part of the sum cannot be found. There were not 
ten. My heart fails me, to think a fine city, a populous city, and 
a city that had lately been preserved out of the hands of its formi- 
dable enemies, should be lost for the want of number forty-five. 

From the history of this city and her sisters, there is some 
reason to believe there were forty-five hundred fornicators, forty- 
five score adulterers, and forty-five oppressors, — and likely some 
place-men. But these were not the persons the Almighty was in- 
quiring after: they were righteous persons that he wanted. 
This is the point, the main point, the sticking point, forty five 
righteous persons ! 

Had drunkenness, gluttony, and gallantry, been any consti- 
tuent branches of righteousness, thou, O Sodom ! had been 
standing to this day! What a flourishing city hadst thou been, 
had uncleanness been righteousness, and fornication been the 
fear of the Lord. No doubt, there were in thee many noblemen 
that had ravished virgins, and defiled the bed of his neighbour. 




K 



In 



60 



SERMON V. 



In thee no lord had any occasion to fear the law for committing 
a rape, when all thy judges were whoremongers. But, alas for 
thee ! none but the devil and his disciples call this righteousness; 
the Almighty calls it wickedness; — and for this thou wert de- 
stroyed. 

Ten righteous persons for Sodom might, for aught we know, 
be as great a number as forty and five for London; — and if the 
one be as far to seek as the other was, there is reason to say, 
Miserere, Domine! 

How unwilling is the Almighty to destroy a fine city! He 
comes down and down in his account — to ten. Forty and five 
could not be found,— nor ten either. One cannot but commend 
Abraham for his good-will to Sodom; he ventured far to inter- 
cede so much for a wicked people;— but who would have 
thought but forty and five might have been found in such a 
large city. Though one could not well have expected such a 
number about the king's court, nor among the grandees of the 
city and country, who generally serve their ambition, their pri- 
vate interest, and their lusts;— yet among the merchants and 
members of the corporation, in the lower crafts, forty and five 
might have been hoped for. But, alas! these are all carried 
away down the stream of wicked imitation. The inferiors 
aspire after the imitation of their superiors; all are carried away 
in the torrent of iniquity. " This," says Ezekiel, " was the iniquity 
of Sodom ; pride, and fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness, 
were in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hands 
of the poor and needy."* Every ordinary shopkeeper attempted 
to rival the mayor and the aldermen of the city in diet, dress, lux- 
ury, and extravagance of every kind. Scarcely a clerk who could 
stand at a counter but must have his kept mistress like a first 
L — d of the T— — —y, and shine in gorgeous raiment like a justice 
of the quorum. Every mechanic, who could but once or twice 
pay his bills, and get credit, must have his country-house, 
"where his wife and children riot in all kind of extravagance and 
wantonness. How could righteousness be expected in such a 
city? 

Perhaps there might be ten parishes in Sodom, and to be 
sure every one would have a clergyman to do service in them. 
These, no doubt, might all be expected to be righteous persons. 
Or likely there might be only one cathedral church, and a college 
of twelve D — — s: these we might well suppose to be righteous 
persons. But, ah! this is not always the case! The scripture 
tells us there was idleness in Sodom too. The D — — s did not 
mind their duty, but perhaps preached but once a month, and 
the B — — p once a year, and the people were lost for lack of 
knowledge. 

It will be hard to find this number forty and five righteous 
persons in any large populous city or trading town, in most 

? Ezekiel, xvi, 49, 

countries^ 



TO ASSES. 



61 



countries,—- or in any court on this side the New Jerusalem, the 
city and court of the Great King. I shall now give my reasons 
for this opinion. — And, 

I. A righteous man is one that speaketh the truth from the 
heart, and will not tell a lie. Where shall we find such an one? 
In the court there is nought but . flattery, and fulsome commenda- 
tion, with a design to serve private ends. There scarcely any 
man speaks as he thinks, or acts as he speaks; their words go 
for nothing, and promises are empty sounds. Seldom do any 
courtiers account themselves obliged to fulfil their promises, but 
when it is for their own interest. What a large number of 
ensigns, lieutenants, and inferior officers, who have served many 
bloody campaigns, might be brought to prove this point? How 
many bundles of empty promises have many of them lying by 
them, that never were intended to be fulfilled ? Truth in the 
inward part seldom agrees with human policy; and he would be 
but a bad politician in these days who should always adhere to 
truth. He would not long keep his place. 

Should any person in high life, who expects preferment, be- 
come a slave to truth, and be thoroughly honest, he might wait 
long enough for the exercise of his patience before his desires 
were fulfilled. Political lying is one of the chief and principal 
virtues of a court in the kingdoms of this world, — and any man 
who has not given up his claim to the kingdom of heaven will 
take special care of having any concern in them. Who can 
expect a righteous person, or righteous deeds, where righteous- 
ness is the only thing to render a man unfit to discharge any 
office in society? A person who is so far gone in honest princi- 
ples as to hold strictly to truth, and refuse to speak lies, will 
soon be made to read his political sin upon his punishment, and 
starve within the purlieus of the court. He will soon get the 
character of a conscientious fool, and be accounted a man unfit 
for business. Tiiat weak and silly maxim, " Honesty is the best 
policy, or that of our Saviour, " As ye ivould that men should do 
to you, do ye even so to them" are inverted among the politicians of 
modern times; — and a man would be accounted exceeding weak, 
and destitute of capacity, who should regulate his conduct by 
such maxims. 

Ahitophel may perhaps make the best of truth, when it is the 
only thing to serve his purpose, and to advance him to ^pension or 
a peerage; but he would not be Ahitophel, nor a counsellor wor- 
thy of his place, if he could not change his measures with the 
times, and make falsehood serve his purpose as well as truth. 
This shews him to be a man of capacity, which is a far more 
noble qualification, in the courts of the kingdoms of this world, 
than honesty and integrity. When the king's son was sent to 
the war against the Philistines, Ahitophel maintained that it was 
a wasting of the treasury to spend money upon that war, and 
insisted that the whole wealth and strength of the nation should 

be 



SERMON V. 



be applied in maintaining a war with the Amorites, Hittites, and 
Perizzites. Ahitophel was then out of place. But after he was 
preferred to the office of chief minister he changed his mind, and 
insisted that the only way to subdue the Amorites was to apply 
the whole force of the nation against the Philistines. 

Hushai, again, is a man all for economy, and a great favourite of 
king David: he is and has been employed to defeat the counsel 
of Ahitophel, — which indeed he has effectually brought to nought 
by hanging him in a pension and peerage. Hushai, though a man 
of no great capacity, yet by fair speeches, and the countenance of 
his master, has for a long time enjoyed the management of public 
matters, — which he has had the address to turn to his own private 
economy. He and Ahitophel have been a kind of counterparts 
in the political drama, and have endeavoured to make all things 
work together for their own advantage. But righteousness never 
was any of their stated principles; and amongst twenty thousand 
such, there could not be found forty and five righteous persons. 

A certain man of the tribe of Israel hath risen up at last ; and 
his cry is, " What portion have we in Israel?" — and by his popular 
proceedings hath brought over the greatest part of the kingdom 
to his side, in order to subvert Hushai; with whom and the 
king's ministers he hath made a little too free, in discovering 
forty and five times those secrets, which all good ministers were 
willing should be sunk in oblivion, — and therefore hath brought 
down the whole weight of ministerial vengeance upon him. But 
the brave Israelite, being of an unconquerable spirit, nobly 
stemmed the torrent, by a zealous defence of the liberties of his 

country ; which he so far effected, that even a first S y of 

S — e dared not to meet him face to face. So much did terror 
seize his guilty soul. 

Ahitophel (then out of place) in a ceriain 1 — by declared this 
patriot ought to be supported, because it was an open breach of 

the p e, and an attack upon the liberties of the subject ; yet no 

sooner had Ahitophel taken his place in the sanhedrim, but, like 
a true courtier, he veered about, and the wind blew so violently 
from the North, that it deprived him of his understanding, and 
the poor Israelite was found to be a blasphemer of his God, and 
a libeller of his k — g. 

From the energy of this orator, and from a herd of p s and 

p— — n in the sanhedrim, this son of Israel was forced to fly to 
the land of the Philistines, where he might dwell in safety: — 
but he liRS returned with the same principles, and the same 
spirit to vindicate the rights of an injured people. For the sake 
of those privileges, which are dear to all whose principles are not 
enslaved through influence* or devoted to the arbitrary power of 
any 1 — d, he now lies confined by a manifest p — — n of righteous 
1 — s made for the protection of the subject against the wanton 
tyranny of arbitrary m — — s. Yet whether forty and five such 
as him will save a nation from ruin is as yet uncertain. 

Since 



TO ASSES. 



Since we cannot find forty and five righteous persons at court 9 
who speak the truth in their heart, — possibly we may find them 
in the city, among men of business, or at balls and assemblies* 
There is some reason to fear a disappointment here also. Men 
in business do not always speak truth. It is now become cus- 
tomary to praise what is not worthy, and to undervalue what is 
valuable. " It is nought, it is nought, sailh the buyer ; but when 
he is gone away, then he boasteth."* Every tradesman is obliged 
to exercise the same craft upon his neighbour by way of self- 
defence, — and by this means deceit becomes necessary in busi- 
ness. Forty and five will not be found among men of business, 
after this fashion. Most men in trade will think it no crime 
to tell forty and five falsehoods for forty and five pounds, and 
increase the number to forty-five thousand for a like number of 
crowns. In polite assemblies there will be found the like dispo- 
sition to falsehood; — every one inquiring after another's health, 
and affirming they are glad to see them, when nothing is farther 
from their heart, — and whenever they are gone, will traduce 
them, and abuse their character. Thus every brother will 
supplant. 

One could gladly desire to find forty and five righteous 
among the fair and finest part of the human species ; but, alas* 
infidelity prevails even among them. Every beauty envies ano- 
ther ; and when good breeding obliges them to speak fair to each 
other, an evil heart disposes them to scandal when their backs 
are turned. " She is no better than she should be, for all her fine 
airs. Mr. Such an one and her — I know it — but I will say no 
more — Such a creature — What will the world turn to? — Her 
father, poor man, I knew him — But I forbear." 

Very likely we may find our number among the clergy; for 
they profess to teach truth. Alas, we are worse than ever'. 
There is reason to fear forty and five are not here. If signing 
and subscribing articles of religion, and teaching contrary to 
them, be truth, then have we found a greater number of righ- 
teous persons than forty and five. Let any one read the articles 
of some churches, and compare their sermons with them, and 
see how they agree. Is it not solemn mockery of God and reli- 
gion, to subscribe for truth what one does not believe, and never 
intends to teach ? Yet this is a common case. If a man accept 
of the cure of souls, and never endeavour to instruct them in the 
way of life and salvation, is there any truth in him ? 

II. A righteous person does not slander with his tongue, nor 
take up an evil report against his neighbour. He will not publish 
to any man's disadvantage what is not manifest and predominate 
in his character. He will not deal in private history, whispers, 
and secret reports; but will defend his brother against other 
people's calumny. At the same time that he testifies openly 
against all public vice, he will be jealous of private character, 

* Proverbs, xx. 14. 

and 



64 



SERMON V. 



and will not choose to hurt the person or interest of any man^ 
He will attack sinners in a body, but avoid all personal reflec- 
tions, except where he finds a leader in vice. In case any one 
shall make himself so conspicuous in the practice of folly, as to 
become head of a regiment of sinners, it will be no crime to attack 
the leader, on purpose to discomfit the whole body. But no righ- 
teous man will asperse private characters, nor wantonly sport 
with another man's good name. Such a person will examine all 
reports, and reject them, unless they be so manifest that he that 
runs may read them. He knows that he that slandereth his bro- 
ther is a murderer, and will avoid such a practice totally. All 
whisperers and backbiters are an abomination to a righteous man, 
and he shuns them as he would do the plague, well knowing that 
fee who slanders one will do the same to another, and that no 
man is safe that lies within their reach. This is a part of the 
character of a righteous man. But where shall we find forty 
and five such? Not him who hums forth slander against a na- 
tion in general which he does not know, for reasons which are 
no way connected with their character, is righteous. Is it righ- 
teous to accuse a whole innocent people for the sake of one man? 
Not him who libels a whole kingdom forty and five times, with- 
out any offence given on the other part. Forty and five such 
persons would only make forty and five sinners, — fit inhabitants 
for Sodom, but not good subjects in a Christian country. Not 
him who endeavours to divide the king from his subjects, and 
the nations from one another. Such an one is only a pest to 
society, and a plague to his country. 

III. A righteous man is one that feareth the Lord, and ho~ 
?wureth them that fear him* — one who revereuceth the name, and 
attributes, and whole character of the Most High, described in 
the sacred oracles who sanctifieth the day of the Lord, and 
observeth with reverence his ordinances and appointments; — 
who worshippeth his Maker by all the means he hath com- 
manded him to observe. A truly righteous man makes the gos- 
pel of Christ the reason of his hope — the law of God the rule of 
his conduct; — his whole life is regulated by the scriptures, — and 
ail things that pertain to the body he makes subservient to the 
honour of his Maker, and the good of his own soul. He begins 
his pursuits with seeking first the kingdom of God and his righ- 
teousness, and then waits patiently for all other things. He will 
found his patriotism in the fear of the Lord, and the love he 
bears to his country in the love of his Maker. He will honour 
them that'Tear God, as his fellow-worshippers, and partakers of 
the same hope with himself, and make it his study to encourage, 
comfort, and assist all who love religion and righteousness. On 
the other hand, he will despise vile persons who delight in wick- 
edness and hate the fear of the Lord, With such he will refuse 



* Psalm xv. 4. 



TO ASSES. 



to associate, lest they should corrupt his morals. Such as laugh 
at religion, and ridicule the word of the Most High, — who turn 
all things sacred into mockery, and set every act of godliness at 
nought, — these he will hold for his enemies, and keep at a dis- 
tance from them. With no blasphemer will he have fellowship, 
nor will he partake with hypocrites if he know them. When 
the wicked become popular, he will mourn ; and rejoice when- 
righteous men are in power. When wicked men are exalted, he 
does not envy them, but pitieth the public under their adminis- 
tration. When the wicked flourisheth, and spread^th like a 
green bay tree, he laments their condition, — knowing that their 
downfal will be great. But when he seeth the £odly man dis- 
tressed by the oppression of the vile, he does not despair of his 
condition, but hopes for his relief, and endeavours to deliver 
him: and though his attempts should not succeed, yet does not 
his hope fail ; for he knows that the latter end of that man is 
peace. But where shall we find forty and five such righteous 
persons in these degenerate days? Shall we account those men 
such — who, instead of adoring the attributes and blessed perfec- 
tions of the Almighty, burlesque his character, and defame his 
Son? — who, instead of fearing the Lord, laughs at all that is 
called God ? — who instead of honouring them who fear the 
Lord, are the companions of infidels, swearers, and unclean per- 
sons? Shall we call such righteous persons, who, thougn they 
rail at other men's iniquity, do yet commit all manner of wick- 
edness with greediness? Are not such persons hypocrites as 
well as profligates, who condemn vice because they have it not 
in their power to commit it? Undoubtedly such as would be 
directors of public virtue should have some virtue of their own. 
They are unfit to direct the public, who are slaves to their own 
passions and appetites. Should men have any share in public 
* administration, who cannot subdue their lust and corrupt af- 
fections ? 

They complain of tyranny with a very ill grace, who are 
themselves tyrants in their own families, and among their depen- 
dents. Such persons, who are severe to their wives, children, 
and servants, would undoubtedly tyrannize over a whole nation 
if they were in power: forty and five such persons would only 
make forty and five oppressors, and be fitter to dwell in Sodom 
than in Great Britain. Can those who make religion a tool of 
interest deserve the character of righteous? — who can bow in 
the house of Rimmon, contrary to their professed principles of 
religion, for any post or preferment under the crown ;— who 
prostitute the most sacred ordinances for the love of the mammon 
of unrighteousness, and the pleasures of sense; — who can eat 
that bread, and drink that cup, which their Saviour intended for 
memorials of his death, only to qualify them for a civil office, or 

to be a test of their fitness to be members of p 1, soldiers, 

or excisemen ? How far are we yet from number forty and five! 

A righteous 



66 



SERMON V. 



A righteous man will not dare to profane any sacred ordinance 
for private worldly advantage. That fear of the Lord, which is 
the ruling principle of action in his soul, will prevent him from 
prostituting those appointments of his Maker to any other pur- 
pose than those they were designed for by the Author of them. 
Righteous persons will neither approve of blaspheming God, nor 
unjust libelling of lawful superiors; — but will at the same time 
do justice to all sorts of blasphemers and libellers. They will 
account it equally profane and absurd to observe blasphemous 
practices, with writing blasphemous poems,-»-and a greater crime 
to libel the Prince of Peace, than to libel any monarch upon 
earth. To prostitute the communion of the body and blood of 
Christ for temporal privileges, is blaspheming in practice; and 
to write against divine revelation, is libelling the Almighty: yet 

we do not find either S y of S — e or J e of the K — s 

B— -h taking the least notice of many such criminals. The rea- 
son is, such blaspheming and libelling do not affect them nor 
their interest; — and men may use their Maker as they have a 
mind, provided they behave discreetly to persons of quality. But 
it would require a large degree of charity to make any one believe 
that those were righteous persons— who devote sacred things to 
selfish and worldly purposes ; — who can neglect the last com- 
mandment of their Saviour, till interest or ambition determine 
them to observe it. There ought to be some equality according 
to the principles of righteousness, in punishing offences; otherwise 
all mankind have a right to say, either the laws are fictitious, or 
the unjust. 

A righteous man will not take a bribe to pervert judgment, 
nor turn aside the poor in the gate from his right.* He will do 
justice impartially, from the love he beareth to truth ; and not 
from such base principles as the love of filthy lucre, and the 
desire of gain. He will not be influenced by bribery, either to 
hurt the public, or to neglect the interests of the common weal. 
If he is a magistrate, he will not be turned aside from equity, like 
Felix, for a paltry consideration; but do justice for the regard he 
bears to it. It is the character of Samuel's sons, that they took 
bribes, and perverted judgment; whereas their father could 
appeal to all the people of Israel if he had ever received any 
during the whole time of his administration. 

Neither will a righteous man, in the character of a candidate 
for preferment, offer any bribes; nor, as an elector, accept of 
any. A righteous man, who offers his service to his country, will 
not attempt to corrupt the morals of his fellow subjects, when 
he is professing to stand up for their rights and privileges. He 
will rather be a patron to the virtuous, and an instructor to the 
ignorant in the paths of honesty. A righteous community or 
corporation will abhor the thoughts of bribery, and detest the 



Amos, v. 12; 



man 



TO ASSES. 



67 



man that shall make an attempt upon their virtue. But where 
shall such judges, such candidates, and corporations, be found? 
In what county, city, or corporation, shall we find forty and 
rive such righteous persons? 

Were there no more requisite to constitute the character of 
righteous persons than a love of liberty and of the common-weal, 
we might conclude we had found more than the number re- 
quired. The free, disinterested, independent Trinobantes, have 
set an example to Britons in future generations. Who that love 
their country, and value liberty, can mention Middlesex without 
emotion? Fear nor bribes, flattery nor frowns, could make them 
sell their privileges. They remained stedfast in spite of every 
temptation. No influence whatsoever could overcome their love 
of independency, and their attachment to national freedom. As 
a testimony of their noble disinterested spirit, they made choice 
of a man to represent them in the great council of the nation, 
whose sole recommendation was a disinterested love for his coun- 
try, and a thorough knowledge of its constitution. Notwith- 
standing he had been deprived of the natural rights and privi- 
leges of his country as a free-born subject, yet he always retained 
the highest sense of duty to his sovereign, and the greatest 
veneration for the laws. The Trinobantes avouched his princi- 
ples, and joined in the common cause of their country with the 
man who had suffered much for defending the natural rights of 
his fellow-subjects, when under a heavy sentence, and in no ex* 
pectation of immediate relief. While others suffered themselves 
to be bribed out of their consciences and liberties at once by 
certain demagogues, the noble independent freeholders of the 
county of Middlesex maintained their liberties, and supported 
the man whom they believed would support their cause, and that 
of their country, with the warmest efforts. He had given incon- 
testible proofs of his love of liberty, and his zeal for the civil pri- 
vileges of his country, by baffling a scene of hardships almost 
unexperienced by former patriots. Sincerely could I wish that 
all the rest of the sins of Sodom were as clearly purged away 
from him as that of bribery and venal corruption. But we must 
not carry commendation beyond truth, nor extol any man beyond 
matter of fact; we dare only say that he is politically righteous* 
This is more than can well be said of the greatest part of the 
n— — 's rep— s — ta — s. Perhaps we shail not find forty and five 
of this character among them. 

Who can look back on some late elections, and reflect upon 
the canvassing, bribery, and drunkenness, that were then carried 
on, without amazement and horror? How many times forty 
and five drunken persons have we seen revelling day and night 
through the streets of our cities and large towns in the time of 
elections, who, having laid aside all business whereby they could 
support their families, went on in a constant round of sensuality 
and dissipation ? What a fine sight to see k— ts of the shire. 



68 



SERMON V. 



m— — rs of c s, and j s of the q m, all wallowing in the 

mire of sensuality, like so many swine ? — (pardon the expression, 
ye pillars of the state) — whose gory eyes and vermiilion complexion 
shewed that they had tarried too long at the wine. To behold 
every hall, room, and corner in every public house, swimming 
with liquor, and stagnating with vomit — what a sight! or ra- 
ther, what a smeli ! 

On one side lies the wig of a candidate, truly oiled with the 
juice of the grape, and bedaubed with the surcharge of some 
over-loaded appetite. It was white ; — but now they would be 
wise who could tell what colour it was of; it is now a wig of 
many colours, and dressed in a new fashion, a-la-mode de Paris. 
The owner lies in a corner, and rests supine in the midst of a 
floating stream of rum and claret — I should have said, belly up- 
wards. His new election suit may well be supposed to be in no 
very good condition. He snores— At last he awakes— His hat, 
which I had nigh forgot, is swimming like an oyster boat down 

a tide of port, loaden with the supper of a j -c:e of the p e. 

Our new-roused candidate looks tor his wig, and finds it in its 
new dress. His eyes not being clear to view it exactly, he puts 
it on. He looks for his hat, and finds it. Now we have him in 
dress. Never did merry-andrew make such a figure. One of 
the pillars of the state! The hope of a sinking commonwealth! 
How does he look? Reader, imagine to yourself that you are 

in C »e or C — — h ; — there lies the scene of action. Such was 

nullum tempus. Economy in its highest extent never produced 
a more ridiculous scene. 'Righteousness! Righteousness! whi- 
ther art thou fled ? Hast thou, like Astrea, taken wing, and fled 
.to heaven, that we cannot find forty and five righteous persons in 
a large island. 

That day which all Christians ought to devote to the service 
of the Almighty, by virtue of an express commandment, in these 
days of elections, was devoted to canvassing, drunkenness, and 
corruption. Can they be righteous persons who were thus em- 
ployed ? — who, in opposition to both divine and human laws, 
prostituted the most sacred appointment? Ah, Britain, a land 
near to destruction! if mercy and speedy repentance do not pre- 
vent jt; — when thy rulers and principal men cannot serve thy 
interests without first offending thy God ! 

Would it not have been better and more righteous to have 
laid out those large sums, which have been the means of ruining 
so many morals, and of murdering so many constitutions, for the 
relief of the poor in these hard and distressing times, than thus 
lavishly to have spent them to procure the vengeance of heaven? 
Were there no widows — no fatherless children — no needy 
and distressed fellow-subjects, to relieve ? Yes, many— too many* 
How many desolate widows and fatherless children were pining 
away in poverty and distress in several lonely corners of the town 
and remote parts of the country, when many forty and five thou- 
sand 



TO ASSES, <59 

sand pounds were riotously wasted by the freeholders, candi- 
dates, and electors in Great Britain? It gives me pain to say, 
what the scripture authorizes me to declare, that England is 
Sodom's sister. " This was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom ; 
pride, and fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her 
and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hands of the 
poor and needy. 11 

It was observed, that a righteous man in the character of a judge 
will not pervert judgment. And it may be added, he will not 
suffer private resentment to hinder his attachment to truth; but 
will prefer public justice to private revenge. Forty and five suck 
judges perhaps might save a nation from destruction; — but where 
shall we find them? Ten would do;— but where shall we even 
iind that number ? 

It is often the case, that the issue of a cause depends upon the 
explication of a single word, by giving it a new meaning. The 
opinion of a j — — e gives sanction to language contrary to com- 
mon sense. We are certain of the meaning of nothing in our 

1 — s but as j s please to let us. The meaning and wording 

of records depend upon the judgment of m 1 demagogues. 

J — — s and'!- s can change the nature of things as they please. 

Liberty and property are uncertain in their hands. A man's 
whole fortune and liberty depend upon the meaning of a single 
word. — lam wrong-— the meaning of a single j e. Our lan- 
guage is good for nothing in determining right; that is the busi- 
ness of j- s and 1 s, who generally fix the meaning of words 

according to their own interest, and settle every vocable in lan- 
guage by the standard of self. But I had need to take care, and 
not meddle with persons in power. Justice hath no chance with 
power, nor equity with might. What I was seeking is forty 
and five righteous persons, — but have not yet come to my 
reckoning. 

Lastly, a righteous man is merciful, like his Father which is 
in heaven. Cruelty is opposite to the generous temper of his 
mind; and he will bear with other men's infirmities, as long as 
they avoid what is immoral. A good man's help is as ready as 
his compassion, and he will carry it as far as his abilities can 
reach. " He is merciful, and lends" Religion teacheth all men 
to be merciful; and our Saviour has set us a glorious example 
in his own conduct to men. A person of this character is kind to 
his friends, and gentle even to his enemies. He will not remem- 
ber injuries, but forgive them. When his enemy is hungry, 
he will give him meat; when he is thirsty, he will give him 
drink ; and withhold nothing from him that may do him good. 
When a brother is fallen into decay, and waxen poor, he wili 
endeavour to relieve him. He will not say, Be thou clothed, be 
thou warmed, be thou fed, and give him nothing; but will mi- 
nister to his necessities, and speedily assist him. But where 
shall we find forty and five such righteous persons ? Among 



SERMON V. 



the great? mercy is no article of their creed ;— for a conceived 
point of honour (though false) they will shed one another's 
blood, an<! shew mercy with sword and pistol. If, by either 
a stretch of power or law, they can get hold of their neighbour's 
inheritance, they will do it, even suppose he should beg. 

Cruelty is predominate among all degrees of persons. If mis- 
fortunes and a course of adversity strip a brother of his posses- 
sions, his nearest friend will crown his distress, and shut him up 
in gaol to pine away in sorrow, hunger, and grief. Several who 
are accounted good English believers are not ashamed to pursue 
their brethren with the utmost rigour of law, — when they have 
nothing to lay to their charge, but that they are distressed, and 
that the Almighty hath aHicted them. Even some, who have 
the assurance to say that the Almighty hath forgiven them their 
iniquities, will not forgive their brethren a single farthing, but 
distrain them to the utmost. Is this righteousness? We have 
not yet found number forty and five. 

It is mercy that upholds the throne, and is the chief pillar of 
all common- weal ;«~-without it men degenerate into the condition 
of savages and barbarians, and become at last void of all moral 
principle. Power without mercy is cruelty and oppression;—* 
and even laws without it are only the arbitrary dictates of the 
strong over the weak. Mercy is a conspicuous perfection in the 
Divine character, and will also appear manifest in the character 
of every righteous man. This is like the sum of righteousness : 
no good man can want it, in some degree. Where there is the 
highest degree of it, there is the most perfect character. 

Forty and five merciful men! — it is a pity they should not be 
found. We have not yet found out that number; and must 
therefore conclude this discourse. 



END OF I HE ADDITIONAL SERM015 TO ASSES, 



SERMONS 

TO 

DOCTORS IN DIVINITY; 

BEING 

THE SECOND VOLUME 

OF 

SERMONS TO ASSES. 



mpte rmc *m ddnt Isaiah, xxix. is. 




A NEW EDITION. 



■London ? 

PRINTED BY AND FOR W. HONE, 67, OLD BAILEY, 

THREE DOORS FROM LUDGATE HILL. 

1817. 



DEDICATION 



To Dr. W— b— t— n, B p of G r. 

JT would be an unpardonable neglect s in paying proper respect 
to Doctors in Divinity, to pass over such a person as yoiir 
Lordship, without shewing due regard to your merit. No person 
whatsoever has shewed greater respect to the dignity of Doctors 
in Divinity than yourself. The merit of The Divine Legation of 
Moses, in proving that the ancient Hebrews knew nothing of a 
future state of rewards and punishments, certainly entitles you 
to a dedication of a book, which is professedly written for the 
edification of those of your order ; and your alliance between 
Church and State will cause you to be held in everlasting remem* 
brance by all good Doctors and true Churchmen. In the 
first you have bestridden the narrow world of literature, like a 
Colossus, and left nothing for future geniuses to investigate; in 
the latter, you have ICAd the foundation of clerical honour. With- 
out your supposed alliance^ all the other glories of a church of this 
world are like the mining cloud and the early dew, which soon 
vanish away. This alliance is the parent of church dignity, and 
ihe grand source of preferment ; without it no man would think 
it worth his while to be. preferred, and a Doctor's degree would be 
but a lean dry honour without it. From this grand alliance 
proceeds the ointment which anoints the crowns of Bishops, and 
bedeivs the heads of Deans and Doctors. T6 jou, Reverend Sir, 
every Doctor and Clergyman in the church are highly obliged for 
your pious and profitable labours'. Voltaire says, you are an 
infidel-, but all who know you believe you are a true churchman. 
I could say much by way of panegyric upon your merit y but I am 
afraid of offending your modesty by publishing your virtues. I 
Shall conclude by observing, thai I have made honourable mentiort 
®f you in these Sermons, and meant it for your edification. 

2 am s §Co 

THE AUTHOR, 



PREFACE. 



JT will perhaps be thought too assuming to attempt to edify Doctor^ 
in Divinity, whose office and profession it is to edify the world, who 
are established by government to instruct the nation, and to inculcate 
the principles of the Christian religion on the minds of his Majesty's 
subjects. But it is certainly reasonable, that these good men should, on 
some occasions, suffer a word of exhortation. There are few people so 
very good but they may be better; and as sermons are intended for 
edification, why should learned men be denied the privilege of hearing 
a sermon. But a second volume of Sermons to Asses may be accounted 
improper when directed to Doctors in Divinity. Not altogether im- 
proper when the matter is truly considered ; for unless the Doctors be 
regenerated, the address is very proper. Job tells us, that man is born 
like a wild ass's colt ; and unless their Reverences are changed from 
what they were when they were born, they are still like wild asses. 
Ephraim is compared to a wild ass, Hosea, viii. 9; and why may not 
Doctors allow the comparison 1 Perhaps the title should be Sermons to 
Wild Asses ; but I have kept by the general teini. The Hebrew word 
f*3©n> which is rendered ass, signifies primarily to disturb, or to raise 
a tumult, and may well be applied to Poctors of Divinity; for there 
have been few disturbances in the church or the world of which they 
have not either been the parents or nurses,, In this respect Doctors and 
Asses are synonimous terms. If the Doctors shall find fault with some 
particular passages in these Sermons on account of their being too plain, 
the author must inform them, that he loves plainness, and meant that 
they should understand him. The writer will very probably hear from 
the friends of the Rabbis the old style, a felloiv of an ill heart ; — but 
lie can assure these gentlemen, however bad his heart may be, (and few 
people have occasion to boast in this particulars) he wishes them all 
well, and would not desire that any of them should die without sincere 
repentance for their sins, and a true view of the vanities of this world. 
The Kabbis could not well expect to escape without observation, seeing 
they have of late years prostituted the honours of universities, by be- 
stowing them upon improper objects. And severe as some may think 
several strictures in these Sermons, yet it will be found, upon inquiry, 
that they are just. But I shall take my leave of the Doctors and my 
reader, and say, Amen. 



SERMONS 

TO 

DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



SERMON I. 

Matthew, xxiii. 7« 
And love to be called of men Rabbi. 

IT is hard to say, what will be the use of degrees from uni- 
versities at the day of judgment. It is pity if they are not 
for some service in the next life, that they should be so much 
in fashion in the present world. The minds of men are very 
capricious with regard to the objects of their pleasure. Man- 
kind are like children,— want to have every hobby-horse that is 
in fashion. If once they take a fancy for a thing, no matter 
what it be, they are uneasy till they obtain it. 

But who would think that reasonable creatures would be so 
fond of empty titles which can do no good? To be called Rabbi 
of men, is but an airy entertainment. A few common people 
might be excused for having foolish desires; but for learned 
men to be so weak, is not so easily accounted for. It is very likely 
human nature does not grow morally better by improvement in 
literature; for, unless vanity be one of the virtues, we will not 
find morality much improved by university education. 

There is not a more childish desire among the vulgar than this 
which prevails among the learned-^-to be called of men Rabbi. 
The world have always had some hobby-horse which they have 
been fond of: but to desire praise of men is an old foible. This 
passion has been stronger some times than others; but it is 
alway a sign of the decline of virtue and religion, when men 
are fond of empty titles. 

Ambition for supremacy and prerogative got some way or 
other into heaven among the angels, and produced a most terrible 
catastrophe. Satan was the first we read of who affected to be 
Rabbi, and rebelled against heaven because he could not obtain 
such a diploma as he wanted. It was not lousj till he seduced 
our first parents into the same rebellion, for the same reason; 
and promised that they should be " as gods, knowing goodand 
evil," if they would eat of the U tree of knowledge." 

Arrogant as it was in the devil, and our first parents, to affect 

such 



4 



SERMON I. 



such high titles, yet they took a better method to obtain pre- 
ferment than many who have been influenced by the same 
spirit and temper of mind since their time. Satan directed our 
first parents to taste first of the " tree of knowledge," before 
they could obtain the title of Rabbi. He did not choose to 
prostitute degrees by conferring them on asses, like some 
modern universities. He wanted that candidates shcnlld have 
knowledge to enable them to exhibit and defend their thesis 
before they were admitted to their degree. 

Though Satan has one of the worst moral characters, yet 
there is no reason to accuse him of ignorance; nor does he 
choose, if he can help it, to confer his honours upon any but 
persons of abilities. It is contrary to his scheme of policy to 
dub the ignorant with degrees of honour. Hypocrites are his 
favourites; and the chief degrees in his kingdom are conferred 
on them. And it looks sbmething like the temper and spirit of 
his kingdom, when men are ambitious of vain titles. In our 
Saviour's time the humour for degrees in colleges prevailed 
much; and the reason was, there were many hypocrites. When 
men's principles and conduct cannot abide scrutiny, they are 
obliged to cover their ill designs with splendid characters and 
dignified names. This might be tolerable in one who had a 
manuscript history to dispose of to the booksellers : such an one 
may, with a tolerable grace, set two big letters to the end of 
his name; but for professed pious and orthodox brethren to 
have the mark of the beast, is not so eligible. 

I cannot well say, whether, in one sense, it: is any crime for 
preachers of the gospel to assume titles, and affect dignity : 
there seems to be some reason for this practice ; for unless a 
man be very rich, or have something gaudy to recommend him, 
nothing that he can say will receive approbation in the present 
times. Truth, unadorned with the trapping of wealth or 
foppery, cannot now be admitted into the good graces of pious 
believers. Godliness, at present, must either walk in silver 
slippers, and Come in the attire of the wborish woman, or be 
excluded the company of persons of reputation. There are fiut 
few that will give her a night's lodging when she comes naked, 
and asks admittance for her own sake and that of her Master. 

Some well-meaning men, when they found that their doc- 
trine could not be received till once it Was known how great 
they were, found themselves obliged to assume titles, to procure 
admittance for what they Said to people of condition. For a 
Doctor in Divinity will be listened to with attention, and hi* 
doctrine accounted the very essence of truth, and the marrow 
<Jf the gospel; when the wbrds of one in the character of a 
minister of the gospel Will only pass for illiterate jargon, and 
himself be esteemed a man' of ho learning or education. This 
may perhaps be some apology for good well-meaning men 
seeking to be called of men Rsbbi^becau^e they can do but 

little 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



5 



little good without being first supposed great men. And were 
it not for one difficulty, I should heartily approve of this prac- 
tice: — but since our Saviour has forbidden his disciples to be 
called of men Rabbi, I cannot easily reconcile this practice with 
the character of a disciple of Jesus Christ. It looks something 
like doing evil that good may come of it, when Jesus Christ in 
his gospei hath forbidden men to affect such titles, and yet they, 
for a pretence of serving hirn, will contradict his express com- 
mandment. 

It argues the want of the spirit of the gospel, when teachers 
Sffect honour and dignity in the church. Our Saviour's disciples 
were tainted a little with this bad principle in the clays of his 
flesh, and he rebuked them for it, and warned them against it :— 
" It shall not be so among you. 11 

After the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, we 
do not find that they ever affected honour, or assumed dignities. 
The Hoiy Spirit filled their souls with a just sense of truth, and 
the knowledge of their own character, which they universally 
maintained, like self-denied ministers of Jesus Christ. Instead 
of seeking praise of men,— like their master, they made them- 
selves of no reputation, and took up their cross, and followed 
him. They assumed no titles above that of the servants of Jesus 
Christ, and the church's servants for his sake. Titles, and a 
desire of supremacy, never prevailed in the church till the spirit 
of godliness began to decline; and then men found themselves 
disposed to make up the want of its power, by a shew of religion 
in will-worship. Then did the church begin to knight the 
apostles themselves, and such as they were pleased to call their 
successors, and titles of honour and decrees became common* 
and grew into repute. Hence all the primitive Christians of any 
note, or who had been any way remarkable, were sainted, and 
degrees of honour were conferred on them after they were dead- 
The meaning and design of this was to shew what the living 
themselves were seeking after, and expected. Thus every age 
conferred honour upon another, and bedaubed them with flattery, 
on purpose to have the like honour conferred upon themselves, 
and their names marked with dignity in the annals of fame. 
Hence it is manifest that a spirit of self-righteousness has always 
been at the root of all pretensions to degrees of honour in the 
church of Chnst. 

It seems to have been the reason why religious men, when they 
came into power, always endeavoured to form their religion into a 
system of policy,— *that they might have their dignities and emo- 
luments secured to them and their favourites,— and that their 
future fame might be answerable to their own notion of their 
importance while they were in this world. The chief reason why 
men have been so fond of establishing religion is, that they might 
secure to themselves the profits and honours which always attend 
it in an established and systematic state. 

C This 



6 



SERMON I. 



This mystery wrought gradually, till it came to its height in the 
Roman hierarchy, of which all establishments of religion are little 
but true imitations ; for it is the same principle which disposeth 
the chief clergyman in the church of Rome to assume the title of 
his Holiness, which disposeth clergymen in other churches to 
affect to be called Doctors in Divinity. The assuming of titles is 
"but a prelude to power, if men could obtain it; for such as love 
to be called of men Rabbi would wish to have power over them, 
if they could reach it. Whenever the church perceives her pastors 
grow zealous for titles of honour and dignity, she ought to watch 
their motions ; for she may be sure they will not choose to embrace 
empty titles, if they cannot obtain power along with them. The 
Scribes and Pharisees were as ambitious for power as ever they 
were for titles; and they only considered titles of honour and 
dignity as means to obtain or keep their authority. 

Whenever the clergy are remarkably fond of being called Rabbi 
of men, it will be found in experience, that they are as ambitious 
of becoming their masters, and of being lords over them. It is 
abundantly plain from the New Testament, that there are no titles 
in the church above those of Servant and Brother; for whoso- 
ever is greatest must be servant of all. What then must be the 
meaning of Rabbi when applied to a servant, but that he is no 
longer servant, but master ? Our Saviour gives it as a reason why 
his disciples should not be called of men Rabbi, because one was 
their master, even the Messiah. This would seem to insinuate, 
that when Christians assume any title above that of Brethren, they 
derogate from the lordship of their Saviour, and become a sort 
of antichrists. 

In churches where all the members are professedly equal in 
power with regard to matters in religion, it looks something 
strange to find pastors affecting the title of Rabbi, — as in some 
independent churches in London, where several pastors are 
dubbed Doctors in Divinity. This is at least loving to be called 
of men Rabbi. It however but ill agrees with the character of 
a disciple of Him who made himself of no reputation, and was the 
servant of all. If those pastors mean by these titles to make their 
ponderous System of Divinity, and their mystical Notes on the 
Scriptures, Sell, it is very likely, like the Pharisees, they shall have 
their reward. But whatever figure they make in the learned and 
mystical world, they will make but an awkward figure in the 
kingdom of Jesus Christ, where plainness and simplicity, humility 
and self-denial, are leading characters. 

This ambition is, however, consistent enough with the other 
pretensions of these Doctors, of being ambassadors of Christ,— 
who pretend to have a right to make a treaty between the 
Almighty and their hearers; for one cannot well suppose a de- 
gree from an university too much for the ambassadors of the 
Supreme. It is, notwithstanding, something strange, if these 
titles are really Christian, that we do not find them assumed in 

the 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



7 



the first ages of Christianity. Paul, according to our translators 
of the New Testament, calls himself an ambassador of Christ*, 
and might more properly do it than ordinary ministers, because 
he had his commission immediately from the Lord, and spake 
the very words which Christ gave him to speak, and nei- 
ther came short, nor went beyond his commission. Truly all the 
signs of an apostleship were in him; but if our modern ambassa- 
dors be successors of the apostles, and their sermons be the copy 
of their embassy, their embassy differs from that of the apostles in 
several essential articles. 

The apostles declare, that we are justified by the faith of Christ, 
and accepted of in the sight of God on account of his atonement ; 
but the Rabbis tell us, that we are justified by our own faith, 
and that the faith of Jesus Christ is only our's by our believing of 
it. The gospel, and the embassy of the apostles, sheweth, that 
men are saved by believing the sacred record ; but the Rabbis 
affirm, we mjist believe what never was recorded in the gospel, 
namely, that Christ died for all who hear it. This is sufficient 
reason for any to refuse their embassy, when it is so manifestly 
opposite to the tenor of the gospel, and differs so widely from the 
doctrine of the apostles. The gospel sheweth us what Jesus hath 
done for sinners, as a reason of hope to them in the most wretched 
circumstances; and that this word is mighty, through God, to 
draw them to himself: but the Doctors affirm, that sinners must 
first come to Christ, and then they shall be saved by him. I can- 
not well say, whether they consider that reformation, which is 
made in the soul of sinners by the almighty power of the word of 
truth any part of salvation; or, whether they mean the same 
thing by the word saints and sinners : but it would appear, when 
men are disposed to come to Christ, that they know his character 

* The Greek word which is rendered we are ambassadors, might more properly 
be rendered, zee are elders. It is but used twice in the New Testament: in 
2 Cor. v. 20. and Eph. vi. 20. The apostle Paul makes use of it to express that 
office, which he, with the rest of the apostles, exercised in the church, namely, 
that of an elder; virt^ tt^eo-^su'o^ev, we are elders of Christ, or elders appointed 

by him, to put in order those things which are in confusion in the churches, and 
to set right what is wrong in the church of Corinth. Elders were overseers in the 
church, and, by virtue of their office, were obliged to point out truth and duty to 
all the members thereof. This signification of the word seems to be confirmed 
by the words of the apostle Peter, 1 Pet. v. 1. I exhort the elders which are 
among you, who am a fellow- elder ; TLgse-fivTsgovs b> tw$ v[jl}v 7rxgccxix\w o crv^Tt^a-- 

Tiie apostle is only shewing the Corinthians, that, as an elder, he had a right to 
she directions about the government of churches, as well as he had a right, as an 
apostle, to plant them, lie shews, that they had offended God by suffering the 
unclean person to pass without just censure; and prays that they would again be 
reconciled to him, by putting every unclean thing from among them. The whole 
verse would read better; " We are elders of Chris', as though God did beseech 
you through us ; we pray you for Christ's sake (vtt^ Xgi-£) be ye reconciled to 
God." The apostle doth not in this verse put himself in Christ's stead, as some 
Doctors would incline to affirm, but makes use of the strongest argument to 
reconcile the Corinthians to their duty to God, namely, for Christ's sake; or be- 
cause God had not spared his Son, but delivered him unto the death for them. 



s 



SERMON T. 



and have a very different opinion of him from what his enemies 
have. And, besides, it would seem evident that their character 
is much altered, when they are able to perform such spiritual and 
moral actions. The Scripture account of man under the dominion 
of sin is, that he is an enemy to God, and his mind enmity against 
him; and that in a moral sense, taking in motives, principles, and 
ends, he can no more perform moral actions acceptable to God, 
than any dead person can discharge the functions of life. 

It is an ordinary phrase with Rabbis, that sinners must flee to 
Christ, and then they shall have life from him. But how can a 
dead man flee? Such an action as this implies some moral life, 
which, we are informed by our Doctors, no man in a state of sin 
is possessed of. How then can they flee? The prophet, setting 
aside every one of these contradictions and double meanings, 
accounts for the change of the human disposition after another 
manner. " I icill, saith the Lord, give them a new heart. I will 
put my spirit within them*." The Doctors cannot well expect but 
some curious people will be ready to inquire concerning the 
meaning of their double speeches ; — when they first tell them they 
can do nothing, and yet insist on their doing what is equal to 
making the world. To hear them affirm, that sinners are without 
life—without strength — without God — and without hope in the 
world, that there dwelleth in them no good thing; and then 
hear them call and exhort them to come to Christ ; — would not 
any discerning person call this contradiction? It is much the 
same thing as jf they should say to a dead man, " Live, and ye 
shall have life. 5 ' 

But the case is, the Doctors have assumed the title of ambassa- 
dors of Christ, and are so full of their own consequence, that they 
overlook the work and power of Christ, and want to divide the 
work of salvation between God and his creatures, that the impor- 
tance of the Doctor may appear in effecting reconciliation. Hence 
we can find in many printed sermons such style as this : — " We 
are ambassadors of Christ — The word of reconciliation is committed 
to us." They also propose terms of reconciliation between God 
and sinners, and affirm, that God is willing to be reconciled to 
them, if they are willing to be reconciled to him ; and speak as if 
God was not yet reconciled, though he has given his own declara- 
tion thereof from " the excellent glory" and testified the same by 
<l raising up Jesus Christ from the dead" Those Rabbis are not 
satisfied with the honour of telling plain facts, and simple truth, 
for Christ's sake, but w r ant also to have an hand in making a 
covenant between God and sinners; — as if the truth was not suffi- 
cient by its own evidence to make proselytes to Ciirist, they 
engage in its behalf, as a sort of secondary mediators between 
God and men, and shew how much they have to offer to such as 
are pleased to accept of their proposal. By this means they esta- 



* Ezek. xxx vi. 25. 



blish 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



9 



hlish their own importance, and nourish the pride of the people; 
for men will not easily be persuaded that they are mere objects of 
mercy, when they are considered as worthy of being parties in a co- 
venant witli their Maker. By such instruction they are tutored up 
to have vain conceits of themselves, and despise others, who, they 
conceive, have not the same qualifications, and are not. so much 
the favourites of the Deity as themselves. Some of the Doctors 
would do well to remember, after what manner they obtained 
their degrees of Doctor in Divinity: — and it might help them to 
a better understanding of the nature of the gospei. It is well 
known, that it is not merit which entitled many of them to that 
honour, nor the doing of any thing worthy of that dignity: they 
received the honour speciali gratia. One might reasonably sup- 
pose, that Christian Doctors would allow poor sinners the favour 
and friendship of their Maker as easily as they themselves obtained 
their diplomas, without requiring of them what they are not able 
to perform. But it is an old evil, which has prevailed among 
Rabbis, to bind heavy burdens upon men's shoulders, without 
giving them any assistance to bear them. 

The gospel, as revealed in the Scriptures, is the embassy of 
Heaven to sinners, where all the articles of salvation are settled, 
and the way of life clearly exhibited ; but modern ambassadors 
are like some plenipotentiaries, who, besides their public in- 
structions, have a certain number of private articles to settle, 
which are not to be found in their public orders. These are left 
to the wisdom and prudence of ambassadors to settle, as may 
best answer the ends of their embassy. It is for some such rea- 
sons as these just now mentioned, that we often hear Doctors in 
Divinity assert, that circumstances are altered since the times of 
Jesus Christ and his apostles, and a different practice has now- 
become necessary in the church. Hence a number of articles of 
religion, no where to be found in the grand embassy, are insisted 
on by modern ambassadors as necessary to eternal life; — no 
doubt agreeably to some secret instructions which they have 
received, that they are not obliged to produce for the satisfaction 
of every one, but may keep as the grand secret to themselves, to 
answer their own private purposes. 

I observed already, that assuming titles is a prelude to power, 
when men can obtain it: hence we will find, that a convention 
of Doctors have often assumed power as well as titles, that they 
might bear their dignity with a better grace. Sometimes, when 
men have not been disposed to pay all the reverence which Rab- 
bis thought due to their titles, they have made then) feel their 
power with a vengeance, — by cursing them heartily in the 
name of the Lord, and by giving them over to the secular arm. 
They would fust endeavour to shut them out of heaven, and then 
make this world too hot for them to live in. And had it not 
been that the Almighty and the Doctors were seldom or the same 
mind, a great part of mankind, on some occasions, had been in 

a miserable 



10 



SERMON I. 



a miserable condition. It has been a considerable part of the 
happiness of these lands, that Doctors have had but little power 
for a long time ; and even the title has been but little known in the 
northern parts of the island, till of late. Whether they mean any 
more by this empty dignity than to become writers of history, I 
cannot say ; yet, from some late proceedings in the general 
assembly of the church of Scotland, one would be tempted to 
think they had a deeper meaning: for, when froward country 
people will not be obedient to the determination of the Doctors, 
and receive cheerfully such pastors as they in their wisdoms see 
meet to set over them, at the desire of a patron, they call in the 
aid of civil and military power to support the equity of their 
decisions. The reason of this perhaps may be, to make the law 
and the gospel go hand in hand together, and that the signs of 
the church militant may be visibly handed down to latest pos- 
terity. There cannot be a better and truer representation of the 
church militant exhibited, than there is at the ordination of some 
Scotch ministers, — where a file of musqueteers are appointed to 
guard the sacred persons of the Doctors against the insults of 
an enraged mob, whose weak consciences will not permit them 
to be silent, when their Christian privileges are perverted. 

Persons who read the Old Testament have some occasion to 
observe how literally some of its prophecies are now accom- 
plished in that morning-star of the Reformation, the church of 
Scotland, when, instead of leaving the churches naked and ex- 
posed to the insults of their enemies, the Christian people, every 
door of those tabernacles of stone and lime are guarded by sol- 
diers in complete armour, " that upon all the church's glory there 
may be a defence" Some narrow-minded bigoted people may 
perhaps allege, that " the weapons of the church's warfare are not 
carnal-" and our translation of Paul's epistles seems to hint as 
much: but as it is very likely that Doctors in Divinity may 
find a various reading, and perhaps discover the word carnal to 
be genuine, but the particle not an interpolation through the 
rashness of some transcriber; by rectifying the text, and restoring 
it to its primitive state, it will read, " The weapons of our war- 
fare are carnal" and be an eminent proof of the orthodoxy of 
the present practice of the church of Scotland. This might very 
likely be accomplished by some learned doctors, with as much 
ease as writing notes on Fingal, — or settling the meaning of 
Gowric's conspiracy, — or finding whether Queen Mary, for the 
sake of an Italian fiddler, and the love she had to one of her own 
subjects, had a hand in the death of her own husband. It is 
veiy probable, were the good Doctors to search as diligently for 
a number of manuscripts of the New Testament as one of them 
did for original papers to settle the above contested points, they 
would find some copy where the particle not was wanting, and so 
get clear of a troublesome text. And perhaps, without this 
trouble, by exercising a little criticism, an acute Doctor might 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



11 



find that the Greek word which is rendered carnal might signify 
weak, and then the text would read, "The weapons of our warfare 
are not weak." There is some reason to suppose that this is 
the true reading, from the word mighty, which follows in the 
same verse, which seems to be contrasted with the word weak. 
There are several things in Fingal, and the history of Gowrie's 
conspiracy, which have cost as much pains and trouble. 

This might very likely be a disagreeable study to such as hav€ 
not been accustomed for a long time to search the Scriptures 
with any attention: for I have heard of several Doctors who are 
no great adepts in the knowledge of the word of God; and was 
once witness, when a reverend Doctor in Divinity, who is now 
Principal of an university, was Moderator in a presbytery at the 
licensing of a preacher, — who, when he was called to examine 
the candidate on the Hebrew Bible, was obliged to put it past 
him to a certain Professor of Divinity. Whether it was his 
modesty, or his ignorance of the Hebrew language, which made 
him put that part of his duty past him, I shall not determine; 
but severals who know him can witness, that without any 
shame he can speak on subjects he is acquainted with, in a far 
larger assembly. 

Such as are acquainted with the history of the church will 
readily find, that men departed always from the simplicity of 
the gospel when they grew fond of honours and preferment. 
As long as religion was pursued in the simple manner in which 
our Saviour and his apostles observed it, there was no such pas- 
sion predominant among its professors as ambition to be great. 
The belief of the truth reconciled them to the cross, and made 
them rejoice " in suffering, and be patient in tribulation." All thai 
the first believers understood by Doctors in Divinity was, that they 
were teachers of righteousness, — men employed in instructing 
others in the way of salvation, and a good life. Such obtained 
a good degree in the church, by imitating Jesus Christ in doing 
good to all men as far as it was in their power. The churches 
bestowed their praises liberally on such as deserved well for 
their good works; hence we read of some, whose praise was in 
the churches. But those degrees were obtained, not by interest 
and partiality, but by the " work and labour of love" which was 
ardently recommended by the apostles. The praise of men was 
what good Christians did not seek after in this life. They took care 
to deserve well, without expecting any honours in this world for 
doing their duty. They were not however destitute of a lau- 
dable ambition ; but it was to please God, and do good to all 
men: it was not to seek praise from men, but to do them good, 
that they coveted the best gifts. The desire of excelling one 
another had a better principle than ostentation, or the love of 
fame; it was love to the glory of God, and a desire to please 
Him, which influenced them in all things they engaged in. So 
long as pure and undefiled religion, unmixed with human con- 
ceits 



H SERMON 1. 

ceits and inventions, ruled in the hearts of the disciples of Jesus 
Christ, they sought no pre-eminence, but what their good works 
entitled them to, and the church was willing to bestow on them 
unasked. -But afterwards, when consciousness of moral defi- 
ciency prevailed in the minds of children of disobedience, they 
began to aspire after splendid titles, to supply the real want of 
a good conscience, and fidelity towards God and men. In the 
very days of the apostles did some men arise, who affected dig- 
nity, and wanted men to follow them, that they might be heads 
of a party, and become persons of consequence. 

In Gaiatia, the apostle Paul informs us, there were some who 
seduced the people from the truth, that they might cause them 
to affect them as their leaders, in opposition to the apostle. They 
were obliged first to seduce them from the truth of the gospel, 
before they could make them fall in with their purposes;—* 
which made the apostle use that exclamation, " O foolish Gala- 
tians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the 
truth?" Doctors, who were formed upon the old plan of Juda- 
ism, persuaded the people, that the Christian religion was too 
simple, and for that reason not respectable enough to be em- 
braced by any people of character and reputation. They endea- 
voured therefore to make it something more trim and shewy, 
by dressing it up in the mode of the ancient Jewish service, 
adorned with the trapping of rites and ceremonies. 

They behaved much the same way that the Protestants did at 
the reformation from Popery. Lest that religion should appear 
too naked, when stripped of the pageantry of Jewish rituals, 
and so give offence to those who love a great number of decent 
things, beside the spirit of godliness, they wanted to retain a 
goodly number of the usages of the adversaries of Christianity, 
to be a bait to catch them with. Thus did our fathers at the 
reformation retain a goodly number of Popish ceremonies, le&t 
they should be thought to depart too far from the mother of 
harlots, and so not get so many to follow them as they desired. But 
what was the consequence of retaining those things which were 
disallowed by the gospel? Instead of gaining upon the adversaries, 
they corrupted those who retained them, and, like the dead fly 
in the apothecary's shop, made all their ointment send forth a 
stinking savour. 

Those unscriptural fancies, retained to make religion appear 
respectable, like the little leaven, leavened the whole lump, and 
fermented gradually, till it became a mass of iniquity, wanting 
"nothing of absolute. Popery but the acknowledgment of the 
Bishop of Rome. All those dignities in fashion in the kingdoms 
of this world were assumed by the Doctors-of the church, and 
such distinctions kept up among Christians as are kept lip 
between a lord and his vassals. The managers of holy things 
were not even pleased with being called of men Rabbi, but 
assumed the title of Lords Spiritual, and pretended to confirm 

men 



TO DOCTORS IN* DIVINITY. 



13 



men in Christianity, and to" absolve them from iniquity. This 
was going much the same length with the Roman church; for, 
whatever may be the difference with regard to their pretensions; 
their words have much the same signification. Such titles and 
pretensions are diametrically opposite to; the character of the 
disciples of Jesus Christ, and , his express commandment — «« It 
shall not be so among you: be not called of men Rabbi." It is, indeed, 
surprising how any persons, who name the name of Jesus, should 
have the effrontery to contradict so openly his most express 
prohibitions; and were it not that we are forewarned by the 
Apostle, that men should become " lovers of themselves, heady y 
high-minded, proud, boasters" we might be ready to conclude 
that the meaning of our Lord's commandments was very un- 
certain, seeing men can pretend to be his disciples, and mani- • 
i'estly contradict his most express precepts. Our Saviour, or any 
of his Apostles, never assumed such splendid titles, but were 
pure examples of self-denial and humility: " Why callest thou 
me good ? there is none good but one, God. One is your master,' 
even Christ; and all ye are brethren.*' Our Saviour claimed no 
lordship^over men, but in the character of the Messiah. In that 
sense in which the Jews gave him the titie of Master, be renounced' 
it, signifying that none had any right, to such a title in his king- 
dom but himself, as the A noirited of God, or the Christ. Asa 
man, a citizen, a prophet, or a teacher, he claimed no preroga-' 
live or title; but, as the Messiah, the Prince, he acknowledged 
himself to be the one Lord and Master. . What arrogance is it 
for men to pretend to be lords over God's heritage, when Christ 
has said, " One is your master, even Christ; and all ye are bre- 
thren?" The most learned and wise in the church can never 
assume any title lawfully above that of Brother, without contra« 
dieting their Lord and Master. . . 

If the Doctors be right, our Lord and Saviour, and those he 
sent forth to propagate Christianity, have certainly exhibited a 
very imperfect system thereof, with regard to rituals, and what 
honour is due to clergymen; for with regard to many practices 
and honours now in fashion, there is not one single direction in 
all the New Testament. One would most naturally conceive, 
that if those degrees of dignity claimed by the Doctor's, and so 
frequently conferred by them upon one another, were of any real 
service to religion, our Saviour, or some of his Apostles, who 
were inspired by the Holy Ghost, would have left some hints 
On record concerning such things, in such a plain manner as 
common people might understand them ; yet it is" manifest,' 
there is not the least hint in the New Testament Scriptures, 
which any person, who had not some private end to serve, could 
honestly bring as a proof for a multitude of usages, and assumed 
dignities, in several churches called Reformed. That general 
rule, " Let all things be done with decency and order " has been 1 
/Siretdied beyond all bounds of common sense, to serve the pride 

D and 1 



II SERMON I. 

and pious purposes of the Rabbis of the church. On this text' 
they have raised a fabric of superstition, well nigh as high as the 
walls of Babylon, that great city, which made the " kings of the 
earth drunken with the wine of her fornications." 

I cannot help observing here the absurdity, or stupidity, of the 
Doctors, who, when they make use of a general rule, do not 
consider how it ought to be applied,~at the same time that the 
things to which it was designed by the Apostle to be applied are 
specially hinted at in the context. " How is it then, brethren, 
when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a 
doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation? 
Let all things be done to edifying. Let your women keep silence 
in the churches: for it is not permitted for them to speak. 
• Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak 
With tongues." And he adds the rule-^" Let all things be done 
decently, and in order." A Christian, who reads his New Testa- 
ment without having his eye upon any honour or preferment till 
the resurrection of the just, will easily perceive, that the all things 
referred to are the things which the Apostle did write, which he 
calls " the commandments of the Lord," verse 37; which the 
Corinthians did not observe orderly, but put one thing in place 
©f another, and introduced confusion in their churches. It would 
appear, from the Apostle's remarks on that church, that they 
did not attend to general edification ; but some spake with 
tongues when they should have prophesied, and some interpreted 
when they should have sung a psalm, "or spoke in another lan* 
guage. The whole intent of this rule seems to be, that every 
member of the church should hold by that part of duty he is 
best qualified for, and which tends most to edification; and not, 
through fondness to shew his parts, intrude upon another man's 
province, which he only is fitted for. But how Doctors could 
extract from this text the doctrine of ceremonies, such as 
canonical robes, kneeling at an altar, worshipping with their 
face towards the east, instrumental music in churches, &c. is not 
easy to conceive. Should any reverend Doctor make as free 
with a Roman or Greek classic as they do with the New Testa- 
ment, they would soon lose all reputation in the republic of 
letters. There can be little confidence due to such perverters of 
holy Scripture in other cases, when they are so disposed to wrest 
it when it serves the ends of their ambition and worldly interest. 
They had better confine themselves to Write notes on the Roman 
and Greek ckssics, where there can little harm arise to mankind, 
whether they be right or wrong. But the Doctors are not satis- 
fied with the burdens which are hid upon common people, to 
support the dignity of Doctors, by the imposition of tithes and 
church-dues; there is a formidable burden of religious articles 
prepared for them by their ghostly guides, almost all of them 
founded upon the perversion of the Scriptures. This shall be 
considered mare particularly afterwardsv 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. U 



To conclude this discourse-r-Let it be observed, that it is a 
sign of the decline of true religion, when men are ambitious of 
titles of pre-eminence in the church of Christ. When the 
teachers of religion aspire after honours and dignity, to recom- 
mend them to the esteem of common Christians, it argues a great 
want of the spirit of the gospel : for every one who knows the 
spirit and tendency of Christianity will expect no more honour 
than is due to them for their work's sake. The case is, however, 
much altered from what it was in ancient times: for those who 
are of least service in the church of Christ have the greatest 
honours conferred upon them; when one who labours in word 
and doctrine, and undergoes all the hard service in the church, 
must put up patiently with the humble station and character of 
curate:— those who do nothing at all carry off both the profits 
and the honours. 

If men are to be held in honour for their work's sake, the 
greatest number of Doctors in Divinity receive their titles very 
unjustly: for if preaching the gospel, and administering the 
several ordinances of Christianity, be any branches of the busi- 
ness of a Christian Doctor, there are several who assume that 
character, who are seldom thus employed once a year. Those 
who live by the altar ought to serve at it. But such as do not 
work, when they are able, should not eat. So says th& apostle; 
and I say, Amen. 



SERMON II. 

Matthew xxiii. 8. 

But be not ye called Rabbi : for one is your master, even Christ i 
and all ye are brethren. 

/^UR Saviour well foreknew how men in after times would 
strive for pre-eminence over their brethren, and has, for that 
reason, by an express precept, guarded his disciples against this 
evil. It is manifest that Jesus was speaking at this time to the 
multitude as well as to his own disciples, which may be seen by 
reading the first verse of this chapter; and the precept in the 
text was delivered to all who were or should be his disciples at 
any time after. It was a repr,oof to the Jewish Doctors, whom, 
he stigmatizes in this chapter with several severe epithets, on 
account of their pride, hypocrisy, and oppression. 

Our text is a manifest hint, that the kingdom of the Messiah 
was to be very different from that of the Jewish church and the 
Mosaic legislation. The degrees of honour and preferment were 
tp run now in a different channel, and be applied according to 

the 



16 SERMON II. 

the nature of that kingdom in which they were conferred : as the 
one Mediator was now come, and had taken upon him the whole 
right of legislation, and the power of bestowing favours and 
honours upon Christians; so he shews that none had powers to 
give, nor right to bestow honours, but himself. When he gave 
testimony to the truth, and nature of his kingdom, he told that it 
was not of this world, and therefore could not share in the titles, 
honours, and preferments of the kingdom^ thereof: all its honours 
and rewards are spiritual, and of a different nature from what this 
world can afford. 

Men are naturally fond of power and praise, riches and prefer- 
ment; and one would be ready to conclude those passions to be 
laudable, because they are so natural to the greatest part of man- 
kind. But it must not a little surprise a diligent observer of the 
progress of nature in its present situation, when he reads the New 
Testament, to find that the commandments of our Saviour, and 
the natural bent of human inclinations, are contrary to one another. 
The passions of the human mind are, in their first state, no friends 
to moral and spiritual truths,for this reason — because the appetites 
have them brought over to their interest before moral objects can 
have access to address them. It is for this reason, that mankind, 
being first accustomed to follow appetite, imagine that those 
things which were first agreeable to them should make a party in 
every collection of objects which is afterwards presented to them. 
The passions and appetites first form a system of sensual inclina- 
tions, which require a total reformation before ever men are 
capable of pursuing true moral pleasures. This seems to be. 
the reason why men, who are not truly reformed by the power of 
the gospel, are always for bringing into their religious systems 
those things that satisfy the passions, and gratify the appetites. 

From this cause have proceeded many effects ho way friendly 
to pure and undefiled religion ; such as ambition for riches, 
power, and preferment, at the expence of true honour and publip 
happiness; a selfish disposition for private happiness on the ruin 
of common weal and the general interest of mankind. Those 
who could not on every occasion attain to the gratification of 
their leading passion, have been disposed to pursue that which 
prevailed next to it, when they found opportunity for satisfying 
their desire. Hence some have changed the passion for power 
for that of gain, when they could attain the one rind not the other; 
and have embraced the opportunity to be rich, when they 
could not find occasion to rule. Sometimes men, instead of 
changing the passion only, change the object thereof; Hke those 
who, because they cannot find preferment in the state, seek after 
it in the church, and, seeing they could not find an opportunity to 
tule Over the bodies and civil interests of others, endeavour to 
rule over their consciences, and become religious dominators. 

The Jews, in our Saviour's time, could not reach any consi- 
derable preferments in civil government, for they were under the 

Roman, 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 17 



>Roman yoke ; but they, nevertheless, had large pretensions to 
power of another sort — *' They could bind heavy burdens upon 
men's shoulders, and not touch them with one of their fingers:" 
and though they could not obtain dignities and titles of a civil 
kind, yet they assumed great prerogatives, and titles of a religious 
sort. They found means to be called of men Rabbi, by first 
assuming the title, and bringing it into custom, a signature of 
honour and pre-eminence. It is very likely those titles were 
conferred by the colleges, or schools of the Doctors, much in 
the same manner as degrees are conferred by our universities. 
Be this as it will, it matters not much: it is certain, our Saviour 
did forbid his disciples to assume any such titles. It seems evi- 
dent, that the title Rabbi among the Jews had much the same 
signification as Doctors in Divinity now hath among modern 
Christians. It signifies a great one, 3*1, for the Rabbisjoved 
to be accounted great ; and it is pretty obvious, that our 
Doctors do not assume their titles to be thought any thing 
less of. 

From this text I shall, 1st. endeavour to shew, That the title 
Doctor in Divinity is not a Christian title: 2dly. That the reli- 
gion of Doctors is not the Christian religion : 3dly. I shall shew 
the modern qualifications of a modern Rabbi, or Doctor in Di- 
vinity: — Then conclude with an advice to the Doctors. 

I promised,/^, to shew that the title Doctor in Divinity is not 
a Christian title. 

Before I proceed to demonstrate this point, I must observe, that 
the words Doctors of Divinity signify teachers of Divinity in their 
original signification, but that they do not retain this meaning 
in modern practice. This will appear abundantly evident to any 
one, who shall please to inquire into the conduct of some of 

the B -ps, who are all Doctors of Divinity, but do not teach 

it above once in twelve months, and some of them not in double 
that time;— -and many of the dignified clergy, though they all 
profess to teach divinity, seldom or never practise teaching of 
it, when they can get honourably clear of the employment, but 
hire whom they can get cheapest to fulfil that duty. The 
curates in England, and the Dissenting teachers, are the real 
Doctors of Divinity, though but few of them assume that title. 
It will appear from this, that the title of Doctor is now under- 
stood as a title of honour, and does not signify any office, or 
duty, which men are obliged to fulfil. It has therefore the same 
signification among modern Christians, which the word Rabbi 
had among the Jews, and must be understood in the same sense. 
I now proceed to shew, that it is not a Christian title. 

1st. It is expressly forbidden in the text, " Be not ye called 
Rabbi. If Jesus Christ have any authority over Christians, as 
the lawgiver to his church, then the Doctors are very presump- 
tuous to pretend to be his disciples, and yet so openly break his 
commandments. The words would seem naturally to suggest 

to 



SERMON II. 



to an impartial reader, that Christians are forbidden, by their 
Lord and Master, to assume any prerogative over one another, 
and prohibited from assuming any honours, but those which are 
derived from a faithful discharge of their duty as servants. The 
apostles never considered themselves in any other light than 
servants. Hence we find Paul, and James, and Peter, styling 
themselves servants of Jesus Christ ; — and the first of these ex- 
presseth himself plainly on this point-—" For we preach not 
ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord ; and ourselves your servants 
for Jesus 1 sake*" Notwithstanding that Paul was educated in 
the Jewish schools by Doctor Gamaliel, yet we do not find 
that, when he became Christian, he assumed the title of Rabbi, 
or affected any title of honour but what Jesus Christ gave him. 
It would appear, that all the apostles of Jesus Christ, and the 
primitive Christians, understood this commandment in our text; 
for we never hear ©f any of them affecting pre-eminence, except 
Diotrephes, who is not mentioned in Scripture with any appro- 
bation. Splendid titles were never known in the church till men 
began to corrupt religion, and then they were obliged to make 
up the want of Christian simplicity with honours borrowed from 
the kingdoms of this world. Pastor, or teacher, served for ho- 
nourable enough titles, so long as Christ's ministers kept in mind 
his commandments; but when they once forgot these, they 
forgot what names and titles to take to themselves. 

Perhaps it may be alleged, that this commandment of our 
Saviour had only a reference to the twelve apostles, and was not 
intended to come so far down as our modern times. Had this 
been the case, I cannot see any propriety in publishing it in the 
presence of so many, when he could have told the apostle in pri? 
vate what he meant by it, as he did in some other cases, But it 
looked very like an intention in our Saviour, to have all, who 
ever should believe on him, to take notice of this commandment, 
when he made it known in such a public manner. He was re- 
proving the Pharisees for their pride and vanity, in loving to be 
called Rabbi, and tells his disciples, that they should not follow 
any such practice—" Be ye not called Rabbi." And it is manir 
fest, that all the New-Testament believers understood the mean- 
ing of this prohibition as our Saviour expressed it; their practice 
is therefore a good commentary upon the meaning of this pre- 
cept. Since our Saviour has forbidden Christians to assume titles 
and degrees of dignity, and all his apostles were denied to such 
honours, it must follow as a fair consequence, that the title 
Rabbi is not a Christian epithet. 

I think it may be made appear from Scripture, that the title 
of Doctor, as it was used among the Jews in our Saviour's time, 
and as it is now practised among modern believers, has no more 
relation to true religion than the title Devil. If we consider 



* 2 Cor. iv. 5. 



attentively 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



attentively the reason of both titles, they were first obtained 
through pride and inordinate ambition. It was pride which 
procured the title of Devil to one of the first principalities and 
powers, who was not satisfied with his first honours, in subor- 
dination to his Maker, but aspired after some higher degree of 
dignity; yea, wanted to be equal to God, or to be above him. 
In like manner, the title of Rabbi has been obtained, through 
an ambitious desire of being equal to Jesus Christ ; for our Lord 
says to his disciples, " One is your master, even Christ." Now, 
what else is the signification of desiring to be called Rabbi, but 
that the Doctors want to be equal to Christ in dignity? Hence 
as the Devil, through pride, attempted to rival his Maker; so s 
the Doctors, from the same principle, attempt to rival their 
Saviour. It will therefore appear plain to a demonstration, that 
the title of Devil is as much Christian as the title of Doctor itf 
Divinity. I must, however, here make some apology for the above 
sentiment, in exalting the Doctors so high; for our Saviour 
says, they are only the children of the Devil: — " Ye are of your 
father the Devil r and the works of your father ye will do." It is 
manifest, from these words of our Saviour, that he considered 
the Rabbis not the Devil's equals, but his children; for though 
they in general bear the image of their father, yet there are but 
few of them possessed of his wisdom and sagacity. I hope my 
readers will now easily perceive, that the title of Rabbi, or Doc* 
tor in Divinity, is not a Christian title. 

2dly. It will appear, that the title of Doctor in Divinity is 
not a Christian one, when we consider that it is not to be 
found in our English translation of the Bible. I had some 
suspicion that my memory might have failed me, and for this 
reason have looked over Mr. Cruden's Concordance to find the 
word Doctor; but, after the strictest inquiry, I caunot find it 
this appears to me the reason, that, though some of our trans- 
lators were Doctors in Divinity, yet they did not believe the title 
to be Christian ; otherwise they would have translated the 
Greek word oioucmxXog, Doctor, and not Teacher, . as it is in our 
English version of the New Testament. Indeed, they could 
not well have translated it otherwise than they have done, 
without perverting its signification ; for it does not mean 
to point out a title but an office, and implies fitness to in- 
truct other? in doctrine, and a readiness to do it. The 
meaning of it may be explained by 1 Tim. iii. 2, which 

signifies a fitness and readiness to teach, or, as it is rendered in 
our version, apt to teach. The Vulgate renders it, Doctor; but, 
as Beza says, " Sed mu'lti sunt Doctores, qui aptiores essent ad 
stivam;' " There are many Doctors fitter for the plough." 
Musculus says, " Significant non simpliciter D'octorem, sedfaeul* 
fate docendi prceditum, et ad docendum appositum;" " It does 
not signify simply Doctor^ or Teacher, but one endued with 
readiness of communication, and who is apt to teach." 

This 



SERMON II. 



This title, which our Doctors assume to themselves, does not 
appear to be in the New Testament, where all the rest of Chris- 
tian titles are recorded ; and for this reason it must be considered 
as somewhat, antichristian. But very likely there are some other 
words, which Christians make use of, which the Doctors may 
plead are not in the Scripture; such as the word sacrament, Sec, 
If this is really the cas£, let them be laid aside. The words 
communion and thanksgiving are as~ easily pronounced as the 
word sacrament, and are frequently to be found in the New 
Testament: " The cup of blessing ichich ice bless, is it not the 
communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, it 
it not the communion of the body of Christ ?*" The word wXoyw 
signifies thanksgiving, and may very properly be so rendered. If 
the Doctors have a mind, let either the word communion or thank- 
giving be substituted in place of the word sacrament ; and in- 
stead of the title Doctor, when applied to such as are not apt to 
teach, nor in the least disposed to fulfil that character, let the 

word ass be substituted ; and, in all future dedications to A ps, 

B — — s, &c. let the words rurt thus— To the most Reverend 
Asses in - ' ■ - . 

To sum up the evidence (as a Doctor would say), it must ap- 
pear plain, that any title not given to Christians in the New 
Testament, but expressly prohibited by our Saviour therein, 1 
must undoubtedly be antichristian. The title of Doctor iri 
Divinity, as practised in our times, is not given to Christians' 
in the New Testament, but prohibited by our Saviour in the 
words of our text. Therefore, the title of Doctor in Divinity is 
an antichristian title. 

I now proceed, according to my method, to shevv, that the 
religion of Doctors of Divinity is not the Christian religion. 
This propositien may perhaps, at first, give oflence to such a£* 
are admirers of the reverend Doctors of Divinity; but I hope, in 
the sequel of this discourse, to make it evident and plain to the 
meanest capacity. 

1st. The Christian religion teacheth all Christians to acknow- 
ledge no head over them but Jesus Christ— ± M They call no man 
muster bat Christ' 1 He is the on!y Lord of the consciences of 
Christians, who will at last judge them, and to whom they must 
give account. But it is an article of the religion of the Doctors, 
that the civil magistrate is the " supreme head over the church, 
without whose approbation and allowance she can direct, order, 
and decree, nothing*)*." This at once destroys the supremacy of 
Jesus Christ, as the only legislator in his church, and makes her 
a monster having two heads. Two supreme heads too! — Amaz- 
ing ! Churches in alliance with the powers of this world may 
have as many 'headland horns too as they have a mind ; but what 
has Christianity to do with that alliance? Those projectors of 

* 1 Cor. 16. f Divine Legation of Moses, p. 25%. 

»ew 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



hew defences of Christianity, may please themselves with the 
creatures of their own imagination, by forming fine political 
images of iron and clay ; but, as long as such defences are con- 
trary to the Scripture account of the Christian religion, the real 
believers of the gospel will reject all such alliances. If any other 
lords or legislators be admitted in the church, but Christ alone, 
there is an end of the Christian religion. The religion of the 
Doctors teacheth, that the church should have a coactive 
power to enforce her sentences, to keep sinners in awe, and to 
secure the interests of morality; that she may " a terror to 
evil-doers, and a praise to them that do well:' 1 but the Christian 
religion gives no such power to any church on this earth. All 
the power in the kingdom of Christ is spiritual, and respects the 
consciences of men, but does not extend to either their bodies or 
their interest. There is no precept or precedent in all the New 
Testament for spiritual courts fining men for religious offences, 
and plundering their houses, or imprisoning their persons, for 
refusing to pay the fines imposed upon them. For such violent 
acts of religious authority the Doctors ought certainly to shew 
Some warrant from the New Testament, to give satisfaction to 
those who pay them so soundly, and by whose offences they profit 
so much; for some people may be ready to conclude, that this 
fervent zeal of the good Doctors proceeds more from a desire of 
the profits arising from the offences, than from any love to the 
souls of the offenders : — -and there is good reason to suppose, 
were it not for the sake of the treasury, the immorality would 
pass without the least notice. Any rich offender, who pleaseth 
to commute with the Doctors, and pay a goodly sum, may rest 
with as much guilt on his conscience as he has a mind, and take 
his venture of hell and hereafter. Here, there is a considerable 
difference between Christianity and the religion of the Doctors; 
for the one deals with the consciences of men, and the other takes 
hold of their purses. Considering at how little pains Doctors in 
Divinity are to inform the consciences of their people in the 
1 principles and duties of moral good and evil, it is perhaps more 
easy to make them feel in their purses than in their consciences ; 
but, for the sake of the Christian religion, and the good of the 
souls of poor sinners, the Doctors should make some attempts 
to convince them of sin, as well as punishment; at least they 
should do something for their money. 

We read of a guilty offender in the church of Corinth, hi the 
days of the apostle Paul, whom the apostle ordered - to be 
excommunicated for his offence, till he should become sensible of 
his sin; but there is not one word of coactive power, to oblige 
him to pay the common fines of fornicators in establishing 
churches. 

It would appear that the alliance between church and state was 
not then entered into, nor does it seem to have been thought on 
at that time ; for the apostle never so much as mentions it in any 

E one 



22 



SERMON ft 



one of his epistles. This seems to have been left for our moderfo- 
Doctors; who, in projecting new defences of Christianity, have 
projected a new religion, totally different from what obtained in 
the days of the apostles. 

But, to shew more particularly that the Doctors are not upon 
the Christian plan, let it be remembered, that they have formed" 
alliances with a kingdom which is quite opposite to the kingdom 
of our Redeemer, and of consequence have renounced his autho- 
rity : for when those who profess subjection to a sovereign do 
not observe his laws, but join in alliance with some foreign power, 
they are no longer to be considered as his good subjects, but to 
be looked upon as traitors to their sovereign, and breakers of his 
laws. Our Saviour has expressly affirmed, that " his kingdom is 
not of this icorld" how then can it be allied with the kingdoms 
thereof? Before the Doctors had listed themselves under the 
powers of this world as state officers, it would have been but 
reasonable to have shewn their Saviour's permission for so doing, 
otherwise it will be impossible for them to prove that they can 
be both state officers and Christ's ministers. It is making some- 
thing too free with their Saviour's authority to form an alliance 
with a foreign power without his consent and approbation. The 
Doctors, by this alliance, undoubtedly have their reward ; for in 
forming the alliance they have taken special care to have the 
state engaged to support their worldly interest, before they would 
engage in its service. And, to be sure, there is some wisdom in 
their conduct; for, seeing they have renounced the Christian 
religion, it is but fit they should have their good things in this 
life. No lover of real Christianity will envy their happiness. 

That form of political godliness, which the Doctors have con- 
trived, has no more relation to the Christian religion exhibited in 
the New Testament, than the military system hath : for no man 
can prove from the New Testament that there is any divine war- f 

rant for A— — ps,B ps, and their clergy in the church, more 

than they can prove that there is warrant for generals, colonels, 
majors, captains, and lieutenants, in it. They are both the king's 
officers, but not ministers of Jesus Christ. There is as much 
authority for placing generals, colonels, and other military officers, 
in the church, as there is for placing bishops, deans, prebendaries, 
archdeacons, and other inferior officers subordinate to them, in it, 
I would not be understood as if I thought it wrong in the magis- 
trate to hire men to serve him in any capacity ; but I would not 
have such as hire themselves to serve the civil powers^pretend that 
they are Christ's ministers in that station. 

It is true, we read of bishops and deacons in the New Testa- 
ment ; and so we do of soldiers of Jesus Christ. Paul, in writing 
to Timothy, calls him a "soldier of Jesus Christ ;" and there is 
as good reason to conclude that he was a soldier, as that: he was 
a bishop, according to the present acceptation of the word. The 
most that can be said for the religion of the Doctors is, that it is 

a sort 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



23 



& sort of civil or military discipline necessary for the honour of the 
kingdoms of this world ; but has no more relation to the Christian 
religion, than the religion of the Bonzes in Japan. They are both 
useful in their own way, for the service of the governments they 
are related to, and are equally related to Christianity. 

Perhaps some may imagine, that this implies that the Doctors 
will be damned. This is far from being the meaning of the above 
reflections. God, of his infinite mercy, hath saved many as 
worthless as the Doctors; and, God knows, some of them are bad 
enough; and though they cannot have any hope of salvation in 
the character of Doctors, yet as guilty sinners they may. They 
have the same chance which other sinful mortals have; but if 
any of them be saved, it must be by free grace, and not merit: 
for it is " not for works of righteousness which they have done,'' 1 
that they can reasonably hope for salvation. I am not over-fond 
of dealing in fire and brimstone, and would not take upon me to 
say, that any man will be damned. I would much rather agree 
with that man who would have devils and wicked men saved 
after a certain period*, than say, that any Doctor in England will 
be damned. One cannot say how extensive the mercy of God is. 
But suppose the Doctors should be damned, yet if sinners be saved, 
there is no great loss, 

It is a foolish fancy which has got into some people's head, that 
when any one says another man is not a Christian, that therefore 
he means he will be damned. It is impossible to say what will 
be; God only knows what is to come; we can only speak of 
present things. Yet we are very sure, that all men will not be 
saved; otherwise the Scripture is not to be depended upon. But 
who shall perish, it is presumption to say. I could as heartily 
wish that all the Doctors in Britain might be saved, as I wish they 
may soon turn Christians, and believe the gospel : yet. I cannot say 
I have any hope that ever any of them will be saved in any other 
character but that of sinners. Our Saviour did not come to save 
Doctors, but sinners. And in the days of his flesh he behaved 
very shyly to them, when he shewed the greatest favour and kind- 
ness to publicans and sinners. The Doctors in that age, like their 
brethren in after-times, envied poor sinners the happiness Gf their 
Saviour's favour, and depreciated his character for behaving so 
meanly as to associate with any beneath the dignity of a Doctor. 
It was no doubt provoking to the pride of men of their character, 
to see one who called himself the Messiah, and who performed 
■ '* many notable miracles" purposely shunning the ccwnpany of 
the Doctors, and behaving with so much complaisance to" the 
worthless part of mankind. It made them conclude that he 
could not be the Messiah, notwithstanding ail the visible marks 
which he had of his character, because he did not shew himself 
a person of fine taste and delicacy in the choice of his company ; 



* Origen, 



for 



SERMON II. 



for it has been hard to persuade the Doctors in all ages, that anf 
man was wise, learned, or possessed of true taste, unless he was 
formed according to their's. I suppose it will be acknowledged, 
that the Jewish Doctors paid no regard to the Christian religion, 
but were very inveterate enemies against it,— and for this good 
reason, because it did not admit of' any degrees of honour and 
preferment among its professors, but what proceeded from hu- 
mility of temper and works of love : for our Saviour expressly 
declares, there should be no pre-eminence among his disciples. 
" Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they 
which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over 
them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. — But so 
shall it not be among you; but whosoever will be greatest among 
you, let him be your minister : and whosoever among you will be 
the chief est, let him be servant of all. For even the Son of man 
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life 
a ransom for many*" It will appear plain, that any religion 
which is so manifestly opposite to our Saviour's commandments 
cannot be the Christian religion. 

From these words of our Saviour it is evident, that Christians 
have neither a right to join the Christian religion in any alliance 
with the powers of this earth, nor to assume any power among 
themselves over each other. On the contrary, those who conde- 
scended most, and were humblest in their deportment, were to be 
accounted the greatest in their Saviour's kingdom. Our Saviour 
"well knew how men would be ready, through pride and vanity, 
to assume power and prerogative, when they could obtain it ; 
and has, for this reason, expressly forbidden his disciples to 
aspire after any. 

The apostle to Timothy affirms, that the Scriptures " are pro- 
fitable for all things, to make the man of God perfect." But the 
Doctors tell us, that faith cannot be kept pure without an esta- 
blishment thereof by the civil magistrate. It is surprising, wheq 
all the civil magistrates on earth were against Christianity, how 
it should have remained pure, when it is so difficult to keep it pure 
now in times of peace and tranquillity. There is much room 
to conclude, that the reason why it is in such danger of losing its 
primitive purity is, that the Doctors corrupt it with their own 
inventions, and mix it with some false leaven. 

The ecclesiastical supremacy of the civil magistrate is a con- 
siderable article in the religion of the Doctors of some churches ; 
to which they subjoin another, equally important for the benefit of 
the clergy, namely, the right of churchmen to partake of the 
legislature. When men have a mind to prostitute religion, they 
may as well do it for something as nothing; and when men are 
bent upon a bargain-making, it is but wisdom to make the best 
they can. Judas was a mere bungler in bargains-making ; he sold 



% Mark x. 42, 43, 44. Luke xxii. 25. 



his 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



bis Master for thirty pieces of silver, when he entered into 
alliance with the powers of this world to betray our Lord. The 
clergy since have made the magistrate pay much deader for their 
alliance, and seldom choose to negotiate under some thousands or 
hundreds of yearly income. Doctor Warburton (a man whom 
no person can blame for want of zeal for the honour of the church, 
and the dignity of the clergy), in his Divine Legation of Moses, 
has shewn us, with great sagacity, the many advantages that the 
church hath gained by her alliance with the civil magistrate : 
" She has (1st.) obtained a public and settled endowment for the 
clergy, to render religious society more firm and durable, to invite 
and encourage the clergy's best service to tne state, in rendering 
those committed to their care virtuous; but principally in order 
to destroy that mutual dependency between the clergy and 
people, which arises from the former's being maintained by the 
Voluntary contribution of the latter, the only maintenance the 
clergy could have before the two societies were allied : \2dly.) A. 
piace in the legislature for her representative, the clergy : {3dly.) 
An ecclesiastical jurisdiction, enforced by coactive power, for 
the reformation of manners*." Thus we see, these good gentle- 
men do not sell Christianity for nothing ; for they obtain a good 
endowment in the first place for themselves. The state are obliged 
to invite their services by public and settled endowments, before they 
will do any thing to make men virtuous. This will easily let us 
into an essential difference between the religion of the Doctors 
aud the Christian religion. The religion of our Saviour promises 
nothing but a cross in this world, till the resurrection of the just: 
but the religion of the state, which is the religion of the Doctors, 
promiseth settled endowments for the clergy. The religion of 
Jesus makes pastors and people mutually depend on one another: 
but the state religion destroys that dependence, and entirely takes 
the clergy out of the hand of Providence, and secures their living 
by act of parliament. The Christian religion gives no power to 
its ministers, but power to "teach all nations, and baptize them:*' 
but the state religion gives its clergy a place in the legislature ; 
so that they can sit in the parliament, with the honourable titles 
of Lords Spiritual. The Christian religion gives no civil coactive 
power to its ministers, but promotes reformation of manaers by its 
own spirit and efficacy; but the religion of Doctors in Divinity 
obligeth men to be sober and virtuous by coactive power, and 
purifies their consciences from dead works by purifying their 
purses, and punishing their persons. Instead of moral conviction 
by a clear representation of the evil of sin, and the vileness of 
iniquity, the state religion (which is the religion of Doctors) in- 
flicts punishment upon the bodies and interests of men, to 
persuade them of the truth of "pure and undefiled religion' 9 
This serves all the purposes for which it is intended; for it 



Divine Legation of Moses. 



was 



£6 



SERMON II. 



was never designed to do more but to restrain men from outward 
acts of wickedness, which are hurtful to the state. The salvation 
of men's souls was none of its intentions; for state-ministers have 
nothing to do with souls, but bodies and purses. But, notwith- 
standing the coactive power of this church politic, the state hath 
great abundance of worthless members; for there are as many 
scandals, and scandalous persons, within the precincts of the 
bishops* courts, as there are any where else. And it has frequently 
been observed, that there are not so many sabbath-breakers, for- 
nicators, and whoremongers, in any places of the same extent and 
populousness, as are to be found in those towns where this 
coactive power is in its greatest plenitude. Whether this be 
strictly true, I shall not say: but if it be true, there is a good 
providence in it for the Doctors; for as the state hath settled the 
emoluments of this coactive power upon the clergy, as an en- 
dowment, the more immoralities that are committed, their en- 
dowments are the larger. This makes them very cautious of 
mentioning future punishments, lest they should fright sinners 
from immorality altogether, and by this means reduce their 
settled endowments. When people have no more to fear but a 
little pecuniary punishment, for gratifying some craving passion 
or appetite, they will not much fear to commit iniquity, as long 
as they have money to satisfy the church's coactive power. A 
man that hath money to keep a mistress will find also some to 
satisfy the priests. As for those poorer sort of sinners who have 
nothing to pay, the Doctors must dress them in sackcloth, and 
let them pass; but one may venture to say, they would rather 
choose they were able to commute. 

There is one article in the religion of the Doctors, which 
scarcely can be called fair-dealing, namely, to take upon them 
the title, and act as the representatives of the church. If by the 
church they mean only the clergy , there may^he some truth in 
what they say ; but in this case what comes of all the rest of the 
subjects? who represents them? One of two things is obvi- 
ous, that either the Doctors represent the people without their 
consent, or the people are not in the church. If the first is 
true, the representation is not just, and the clergy are intruders; 
if the latter, the people are not concerned with the alliance 
between church and state, for they belong to neither. If, as the 
church of Rome affirms, there be no salvation out of the church, 
the greatest part of his Majesty's subjects, according to this 
principle, are in the fair way to damnation. 

Another capital difference between the religion of the Doctors 
and the Christian religion is, that Christianity deprives no man of 
any temporal advantage, lor either professing or not professing it. 
It interferes with no man's privileges as men and citizens, but 
suffers them to remain in the full possession of all their natural 
rights and emoluments; but the religion of the Doctors deprives 
men of their rights as men and citizens, because they will not 

conform 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. $7 



Conform to the state-religion. The ecclesiastical religion requires 
a test-law for its security, which the Christian religion knows 
nothing of; for what connexion is there between Christianity, 
and a man's being a member of parliament, a soldier, or an ex- 
ciseman. Is he unqualified to judge of the civil properties of his 
country, or to fight for it, because he cannot in his conscience 
receive the communion of Christ's body and blood at an 
altar on his knees? Those representatives of the church politic 
would be honest, if they would tell us plainly the reasons why 
they are so fond of a test-law. We can see it, whether they tell 
us or not. It is to secure the settled endowments which they 
bargained for in their alliance with the state; but they ought in 
all conscience to fulfil their duty to the state, by teaching its 
subjects in the principles of religion and morality, before they 
pleaded for a test-law. Will it ever be sufficient to instruct men 
in the principles of truth to preach once a-year, and commit the 
instruction of his Majesty's subjects to men who are at i>o pains 
to teach them ? But what are the Doctors afraid of, that they 
are so earnest about a test-law? Are they afraid that pure and 
undefiled religion does not prosper without such a barrier? or 
do they imagine that the civil constitution will come to nothing 
without a religious test? This is mysterious enough. Had 
good church Doctors been always good friends to the civil govern- 
ment and the liberties of their country, there would ha^e been 
some reason to have believed they were sincere friends of our 
constitution; but it is not yet quite forgotten how many Doctors 
in Divinity, and learned Bishops, who were fond of a test-law, to 
secure the emoluments of the alliance between church and state 
to themselves, that were not fond of the revolution, nor the Pro- 
testant succession in the house of Hanover. It can easily be 
proved, that some good Doctors of Divinity, who have been very 
zealous for the test-act, were very scrupulous about taking the 
oaths toKing William. Doctor Sherlock, whom none can justly 
blame for want of zeal for the test-act, was, good man, some time 
in doubt about swearing allegiance to his sovereign : and several 
good Doctors and Bishops, who were in sad doubts, before their 
eyes were enlightened with hopes of preferment, whether they 
should take the oaths to the government or not, never hesitated 
concerning the test-law. The King did not seem disposed to 
exclude the Dissenters from places of power and preferment, and 
was not inclined that church-men should devour all the profits 
of government : for this reason the Doctors were shy oi entering 
into any alliance with him. They thought the least thing that 
was due to them, for being so humble as to promise to be good 
subjects, was, that they should have all the money the government 
had to spare to divide among themselves and their friends. They 
considered the ehurch as in great danger (as they always do), 
whenever they saw a non-conformist likely to share in any of the 
advantages of government; and in case they could not find means 

to 



SERMON II. 



to hinder such from serving their king and country in a fair 
way, were determined they should make a dear purchase of 
their preferment* For this reason they pushed hard for the 
test-act; — that if any would still be so presumptuous as to seek 
to have any share in civil government, who were not good 
church-rnen, they should procure their places at the expence 
of their consciences. 

When his majesty King William, on his coming to the throne, 
wanted to have liberty of conscience granted to all his Protestant 
subjects, without any detriment to their civil privileges, the 
clergy sounded such an alarm concerning the danger of the 
church, as if the Alcoran had been going to be imposed upon 
them instead of the Bible, — that it was with difficulty the 
toleration-act was made; — and those good Protestants, the Doc- 
tors, so violently opposed the toleration, that they got it framed 
in such a manner, that all preachers or teachers of dissenting 
congregations are obliged to subscribe the articles of the 
church, when called to it, except three and near an half; 
namely, the thirty-fourth, thirty-fifth, and thirty-sixth, and a 
clause in the twentieth article concerning rites and ceremonies* 
Thus the Doctors gained their point so far, as that all dissenting 
ministers, if the Doctors have a mind, must declare they believe 
as the church believeth, except in three articles, or be put 
to trouble. 

It appears, after all, somewhat strange, that the good Doctors 
of the church are so stupid and so profane as to suppose that a 
man's taking our Lord's supper kneeling at an altar is any test 
of his being a good church-man,— when all the drunkards and 
fornicators in England are admitted to the same privilege, if 
they demand it. This abundantly confirms what I have observed, 
that the religion of the Doctors is not the Christian religion; for 
although a man's taking the sacramental test declares him a good 
church-man, yet it does not so much as suppose him to be a 
Christian; for those who neither understand, nor yet practise 
the Christian religion, are ail by this solemn action declared 
good church-men. It is manifest, that the titles Doctors and 
Church-men do not in the least imply Christianity in them; for 
Doctors and church-men are not concerned with religion, but 
with the church. What a solecism is it in morals to suppose a 
man will be the. better member of any society, by being forced 
to observe an ordinance for the sake of interest, which all the 
wicked men in the nation have as free access to as himself, and 
do not appear one grain the better thereof. Our Saviour never 
intended this ordinance of his supper to be a test of any man's 
fitness for the offices of soldier or commissioner of excise. 

It is a very long time since any of the subjects of England 
enjoyed any advantages from the government, without paying 
their compliments first to the church and her Doctor?. Dr. 
Swif.t seems very much out of temper at the harmless 

Quakers 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 2$ 

Quakers being indulged with the privilege of giving their word 
instead of their oath, and gives them some genteel names, which 
he was very capable to do; and reflects upon the government 
for being so simple, in treating them so humanely. He mentions 
a very strong reason, namely, that they were heretics : and what 
denominations are not so, who are not real friends and members 
of the church, and discreet to the Doctors? Let Quakerism be 
as absurd an heresy as it will, the Quakers seem to act as ration- 
ally as any Doctors of the church of England, and are just as 
much upon the Christian plan as they are. 

The above-mentioned Dean Swift, in speaking of the religion 
of a Church-of-England man, does not pretend that it i«s the 
Christian religion; for he says, " It consists in a veneration for 
the scheme established among us of ecclesiastical government; 
and though," he says, " a Church-of-England man will not deter- 
mine whether episcopacy be of divine right, he is sure it is 
most agreeable to primitive institution*." But what does it 
signify what it is agreeable to, if it is not to be found in the New 
Testament? It may be an article of the religion of a Church- 
of-England man ; but it can be no article in the Christian re- 
ligion, unless it be found in the word of God. 

The Christian religion keeps up a just distinction between 
things civil and religious, and never blends them together: the 
things of God and Caesar are always kept distinct in the New 
Testament. But the religion of the Doctors confounds things 
sacred and civil, and makes every religious institution subser- 
vient to civil policy. They consider religious education as, in 
the first place, necessary to teach men the duties (as they term 
them) of imperfect obligation, for this reason — because the state 
cannot conveniently enforce them, as lying beyond its power; 
never considering that the design of true religion, in the first 
instance, is to glorify God, and save sinners from all iniquity. 
The Christian religion does not consider men as bodies politic, 
but as sinners, without understanding, and as objects of mercy. 
When we were sinners, God sent his Son to save us; or, in the 
words of the Apostle, to " die for the ungodly." It was not in- 
tended to fit men for civil establishments, for these may happen 
in great perfection where the Christian religion is not known; 
but to fit them for heaven, and the enjoyment of fellowship with 
their Maker in purity and love. The world did not need the 
ministry and obedience of our Saviour, to bring nations into a 
state of sound policy, but to bring them from Satan to God. It 
might perhaps be made appear, that there were as good systems 
of civil government before the Christian religion was known, as 
since it was published ; and in this sense the world did not need 
it. But with regard to matters of our acceptance Avith God, all 
the political systems were strangers. Christianity was, and is, a 



Swift's Works, vol. i. 

F 



remedy 



so 



SERMON II. 



remedy for what all the wisdom of the universe could give no 
assistance to. It shews men that God Almighty is no respecter 
of persons, and that he is reconciled to guilty mortals through 
his Son Jesus Christ. Men may be good members of civil 
society in almost any religion but Popery; and the reason why 
this is hurtful to civil society is, because it intermeddles with 
politics, and is in fact a political religion. Any religion, which 
wants to have any more advantages from the state but mere pro~ 
tection, is only a policy, intended to serve the private ends of 
ambitious and selfish men, and.js of the same nature with Popery, 
Jiowever it may differ in some particulars. And were it not 
that Popery contains these two abominable principlesrr-that there 
is no salvation out of the Romish church, and that no faith is to 
be kept, with heretics, I should think it as good a state religion 
as any other I know of. The Christian religion can never have 
any other connexion with any state whatever, further than to 
jnake all its believers good subjects; and this it will do to all 
governments, wherever it is rightly understood. It is in n0 
danger of sectaries ; nor do those who believe it trouble them- 
selves hOw many different sorts of religion there be; for they 
are so well persuaded of the truth of true godliness, that they 
know it can never receive any real hurt by any number of com- 
petitors. 

How unlike to this is the religion of the Clergy and Doctors 
of Divinity, which is always supposed in danger unless it can 
command all the laws of the land, and the power if the magis- 
trate to assist it? Instead of believing the promise of our 
Saviour to be a sufficient establishment for the faith and religion 
of Christians, they maintain, that the faith cannot be kept pure 
■without it be defended by carnal weapons. The Apostle in- 
forms Christians, that " tl^e weapons of their warfare are not 
carnal, yet mighty through God." They are indeed ill to please 
of security for their religion, who are not satisfied with the pro- 
mise of Jesus Christ, and permission to exercise it as their con- 
science doth direct them. The magistrate hath no more to do. 
with religion, but to protect all the subjects in the exercise of 
their own religion while they continue good subjects, and choose 
his own. If he hath any money or honours to spare, he may 
dispose of them to whom he thinks them due; but has no just 
right to make religion the reason of civil preferment. If he 
does, he mistakes his office, and does not understand his own 
interest. There is a manifest danger to the magistrate in en- 
tering into an alliance with the church; for in case, through 
some mistake, there should be some failure in fulfilling the con- 
ditions, be will have a very powerful party against him, who 
■will find other reasons than religion to give him disturbance: 
but when he takes sides with no party, but protects all, what, 
ever religion they are of, as long as they are good subjects, he 
will find it easier to exercise his office, and be in less danger of 

any 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



any revolution. There is some reason to suppose, bad King 
James VII. allowed ail parties the free exercise of their religion, 
and not, through the influence of Popish principles, taken sides 
with those who wanted to engross his favours, he had not been 
forced to forsake his throne, and lay aside his crown. But he 
first persecuted what they called Sectaries, and afterwards broke 
the alliance with the church; on purpose to make a new one with 
the. Catholics, and by this means had all parties against him # 

The Christian religion is wholly contained in all its articles 
in the written word of God: there alt things necessary for our 
faith and practice are comprehended; to which nothing at any 
time can be added, without encroaching upon the authority of 
Christ, and giving up the perfection of holy Scripture. " All 
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteous- 
ness-, — yea, profitable for all things to make the man of God per* 
feet*. 1 ' But the Doctors, instead of taking the word of God 
for the foundation of their religion, and observing it in all things, 
they follow Arminius, or Calvin, and form their systems of 
Christianity upon their writings. What is worse, some of them 
subscribe the one religion as the articles of their belief, and teach 
and practise the other in their public administrations. Any 
person who pleases to read the most celebrated printed sermons 
of the Bishops and Doctors, and compare them with the Articles 
of the Church, will find the truth of what is just now observed. 
What has Christianity to do with either Armihianisrn or Cal- 
vinism? They have no more connexion with it than Mahumet- 
anism haih. If Christians believe not the gospel from their own 
conviction that it is true, it is of no great consequence what leader 
they follow. They may follow Aristotle, if the} 7 have a mind, 
and be as gdod Christians as if they followed either Luther or 
Calvin. 

If meil are ndt to believe divine revelation at first hand, after 
they have made free inquiry into its evidence, it signifies nothing 
whether they believe what one man or an hundred say. It is 
the concurrent sentiment of both the Old and New Testaments, 
that every jnan must be accountable for what he himself believes 
and pracmes: for, says the wise man, " If thou be wise, thou 
shalt be wise for thyself; but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear 
it; — and the'apostle Paul, " Hast thou faith? have it for thyself 
before God." 

The religion of the Doctors is much different from this, who 
pretend authority to expound the Scriptures, and compose arti- 
cles, which men must either say they believe, or suffer loss for 
their infidelity. It is the great article of the Christian a,nd of 
the Protestant religion, that, as '« the Holy Scriptures are the only 
rule of faith and obedience, so every man, after a / just inquiry, 

* 2 Tim.iii. 16. 

ap4 



52 



SERMON It 



and using all means he can obtain, must judge of their sense and 
meaning for himself;" and for this good reason, *' because he 
must answer for himself at the last judgment." The Jewish 
Doctors ruined their religion by raising their power to an extra- 
vagant height. Gamaliel advises the ignorant Jews to get Rabbis 
to themselves, that they might dowbt of nothing. The Jewish 
Doctors assumed a power of binding and loosing, in matters 
of faith and practice, when they pleased. Whenever they thought 
proper that the people should believe any doctrine, they said, 
We loose you; and when they saw meet to restrain their inqui- 
ries, they said, We bind ye. Thus they kept the keys of know- 
ledge in their own power, whereby the common people were 
kept in ignorance. Of this our Saviour complains in the gospel 
by Luke, and pronounceth a woe against the lawyers for this 
practice : — U Woe unto you, lawyers ! for ye have taken away the 
key of knowledge : ye entered not iv "ourselves, and them that were 
entering in ye hindered* " 

The Doctors, not daring to trust tne proof of their religion to 
the Scriptures only, betake themselves to the opinion of the fa- 
thers ot the three first centuries. But what doth their opinion 
signify more than the fathers of the seventeenth century, unless 
it is evidently agreeable to Scripture? These good old men were 
no way remarkable for either ingenuity or candour; for, instead 
of keeping closely to the Scripture, they contrived meanings for 
it, which one would think they must have taken a good deal of 
trouble and pains to have found out. The raving absurdities of 
Jacob Behmen, and John of Leyder ,*re not more ridiculous 
than the allegories of the fathers, jrigen was undoubtedly a 
very literal interpreter on that paragraph of our Saviour's sermon 
on the mount — " If one of thy members offend thee, cut it off, and 
cast it from thee" I wonder much that those Doctors, who are 
such great admirers of the fathers, have never followed OrigenV 
practice, and fallen in with his interpretation of that text. The 
clergy of the Romish church would have done a real service to 
mankind if they had observed this interpretation; — and one 
cannot well perceive the propriety of permitting them to confess 
and absolve so many young ladies, (seeing they have not wives 
of their own), without first falling in with this article of religion. 
It would not also be amiss to impose this article upon some Pro- 
testant clergymen, who seem not disposed to observe the first 
commandment in the ordinary manner. It would be as reason- 
able as several other articles of their creed. It is undoubtedly as 
consistent with the Christian religion to cause old bachelors to 
fall in with this article, before they shall receive a living of some 
thousands a-year, as it is to oblige a conscientious man, who 
cannot believe the thirty. nine articles, to subscribe them. 

I observed, that the Scriptures alone are the Christian's creed, 
and his only confession of faith, and that nothing can be added to 

• Luke xi. 52. 

ttoem 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. S3 



th#m without declaring their imperfection. Decrees of councils, 
and confessions of faith, and catechisms, are only memorials of 
what was done at Nice, Ephesus, or Westminster; but are no way 
binding upon the consciences of Christians, more than any other 
religious books. 

By departing from the Scriptures, the Doctors introouced the 
greatest absurdities in the very early periods of Christianity. 
Constantine, out of his great zeal for the church, built fin- splen- 
did edifices, like the Heathen temples, adorned with ah the fan- 
ciful trapping he could invent; and, instead of Heathen sods, 
he adorned the churches with the images of saints: — and some 
take the liberty to say, that many of the modern saints that are 
standing in St. Peter's, at Rome, are only some of the effigies of 
the ancient heathen gods, consecrated and made saints. They 
were undoubtedly as good as any otner for that purpose. It 
was at this time the consecration of churches came in fashion; 
for the Emperor did not choose that Christian » diuretics should 
come any thing short of the Heathen temples. Eusebius, in his 
Life of Constantine, says, that the Emperor called together a 
great number of bishops to consecrate one of the new churches 
at Jerusalem, and bare all their exoences in their journeys to 
and from that place; and entertained them so well when they 
were there, that it is hard to say if there ever was such another 
solemn day, till the consecration of St. Catharine Creed's church 
in the Strand, in London. 

It is manifest that the consecration of places of worship is 
not Christian, but is derived from a Heathen original, like the 
rest of the religion of the Doctors. 

Having first sanctified their temples after the manner of the 
Gentiles, they began also to form their church-government after 
the model of the empire. If the Doctors will believe Dr. Cavb, 
I shall give them his words on this subject*: — " The whole 
empire," says he, " consisted of thirteen dioceses; for so they 
called those large divisions about Constantine'? time. In each 
of those dioceses were several provinces (118 in all) ; the chief 
city whereof in every province was called the metropolis, that 
had a kind of jurisdiction over all the rest, both title and dig- 
nity being peculiarly settled by imperial constitutions. Now the 
civil and ecclesiastical jurisdictions were concurrent after this 
manner: — In every city there was a civil judge who presided over 
it, am' the towns about it: and to him answered the bishop of 
that city. In every province a proconsul, or president, resided at 
the metropolis, governed that whole division, received appeals, 
and determined ail important cases brought, before him from the 
inferior cities : correspondent to him was the metropolitan (as 
they after called him), or archbishop, whose see was in the same 
city, who superintended the several churches, and/ordained the 

* Ancient Church Government, page 01. 

several 



34 



SERMON II. 



several bishops within his province. And then in every diocese 
(or large division of the empire), there was a mcarius, or lieute- 
nant, who kept his residence in the principal city, thence dis- 
patched the imperiai edicts, and there heard and decided those 
causes that were not finally determined by inferior courts :— and 
concurrent with him in ecclesiastical matters was the primate, or 
(as some of them were styled more eminently) the patriarch, 
who presided over the several metropolitans within that diocese, 
appointed the convention of his clergy* umpired the differences 
that arose between the several bishops, gave the determination to 
all appeals brought before him. And thus," adds he, " by an 
ordinary subordination of deacons and presbyters to their 
bishops, ot bishops to their immediate metropolitans, of metro- 
politans to their respective patriarchs, and by a mutual corres- 
pondence between the several primates of every diocese, the 
affairs of the church were regularly carried on with great deco- 
rum and regularity. " The Doctor owns, (page 82.) that it was 
a human contrivance; — and who that possesses the use of his 
reason can get it denied: — but he calls it a wise one. Truly 
" the children of this world are wiser than the children of 
light. 1 * 

I think it will appear, with the consent of this Doctor, that 
there is a wide difference between the Christian religion and 
one formed entirely upon the Heathen plan. — But, leaving this 
digression, let us return to the present Doctors*. I observed, that 
their religion is the religion of Calvin and Arminius; that the 
religion they subscribe is the religion of Calvin, but that which 
they teach is the religion of Arminius. Now how can they have 
the conscience to desire any man to subscribe their articles, 
which they themselves do not believe, is not easy to reconcile 
with common honesty, to say nothing of Christianity. This 
reflection extends to some Doctors besides those in the church of 
England. Their brethren on the north side of the Tweed are 
guilty in this particular, as well as they are; for many there, 
who subscribe very Calvinistic articles, do not believe many of 
then-, but preach the very contrary every time they go to the 
pulpit. Leaving the modern qualifications of modern Doctors 
of Divinity for another discourse, I shall conclude this with some 
advice to the Doctors. Here I shall not follow the method Of 
the popular preachers, by addressing myself to saints and 
sinners; but shall address you, the learned Doctors, under this 
last character. 

You cannot reasonably lay any claim to saintship, in this 
honourable character of Doctor: To which of the saints will 
ye turn? To Matthew, Mark, Luke or John; — or to Paul, 
Peter, or James; — or to Jude ? None of all these were Doc- 
tors in Divinity. Luke, we are told, was a physician, or, if 
you please, a Doctor in physic; but laid no claim to your 
character. As miserable sinners, allow me to exhort you to flee 

from 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



from the wrath to come. This was a state our Saviour found 
the Doctors in, in his time: and there is reason to fear still a 
great number of Rabbis are in danger of wrath to come. 
Your Reverences will perhaps be offended at this plain address; 
but our Saviour addressed the Pharisees in this very character. 
You ought to remember how great sinners you are; now many 
rich livings you have devoured; and what idle lives ye have 
spent. Is there any reason why you should spend thousands 
and hundreds of yearly incomes, when there are so many poor 
curates and poor Christians almost starving for want or every 
necessary? The Pharisees were not quite so great sinners as 
you are. They received the tithe of anise, mint, and cumin; 
but ye must have the tithe of all things. We can enjoy nothing 
but ye must have a share. Ye take hold of us as soon as we 
come out of our mother's womb; and you never lose sight of us 
till we return to dust. Not a cow can calve, or a sow pig in the 
nation, but your watchful eyes are upon them. Happy were it, 
if you were as attentive to mercy, judgment, and faith. Were 
you employed in feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked, 
and visiting the widow and fatherless in their affliction, you 
would shew a Christian temper, and deserve the character of 
believers of the gospel. But to riot in gluttony, and supinely 
spend your time in idleness, is not the mark of Christians. 

There are laws against engrossing and forestalling o+" several 
commodities. It is pity there should not be one against tore- 
stalling of church-livings: the one would be as tquitab'e and 
just as the other. How do you think to give an account of your 
talents which Providence has richly bestowed upon you? Ten 
or twelve thousand a year might do much good, if it were 
equally divided. But ah, ye Doctors — Bishops! when once it 
comes into your hands, it is never more heard tell of, tdl your 
last wills are published. Then we hear of many thousands left 
to your heirs: perhaps a thousand, or two, left to build an 
hospital; one to episcopise the colonies abroad; one to build a 
charity school, that the Doctors may be remembered once a 
year after they are dead. But how many poor widows and 
fatherless children have starved in the time all this was hoarding 
up, which might have been relieved with some share thereof in 
the mean time? Yea, how many have been oppressed in paying 
church-dues, which the Doctors would not want, though the 
widow and the fatherless should starve. 

Reverend Sirs, what reason is there that you should have the 
tithe of all our substance below and above ground ? Why do ye not 
also take the tithe of our children, and bring them up to honourable 
employments? You know it is by o,ur substance only we can main- 
tain them : there are many who have not a tenth part to spare 
without being distressed. We are afraid you do not give the tithe 
of your substance, to either God or the poor. What are you of use 
for to the nation ? What good do you do to the government ? You 

are 



: S6 SERMON II. 

are engaged to teach the subjects in the duties of religion and 
morality; but will a few occasional, dry, insipid discourses do this? 
The A Dostte commanded Timothy to be " instant in season andout 
of season "—-and " to do the work of an evangelist:" but is it to do the 
work of an evangelist, to hang on about the court, and preach only 
in Easter term, or the time of Lent? May I not call you wolves in 
sheeps* clothing, — who devour the flock, but do not feed them? 
What can ye expect when the great Bishop and Shepherd of souls 
calleth you to an account ? you will undoubtedly, if ye die Doctors, 
hear that awful declaration--" I was an hungered, and ye gave 
me no meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was naked, 
and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 
Depart from me," &c. 

What better is the government of such drones as you are, when 
the subjects are ignorant of virtue and godliness? Does it appear 
that you do your duty, when there is so much immorality pre- 
vailing? What is the reason that swearing, sabbath-breaking, and 
impurity of all sorts, abound so much ? Are not his Majesty's sub- 
jects ignorant of the nature of moral obligation. For what end 
does the government pay so much money, when the subjects 
are not one grain the better ? Are not ye the servants of the state, 
and taken into alliance therewith? How do you fulfil your part of 
that alliance ? The magistrate must fulfil his part, or then all the 
corners of the kingdom would soon hear of it, and every one would 
hear in what danger the church was. But, gentlemen, is 
Dot the state in danger on your account ? Did you teach the sub- 
jects, as you ought to do, in the principles of true religion, it would 
do more to prevent mobs and riots than all the standing forces in 
the kingdom. One may venture to pronounce, that were the sub- 
jects well instructed in the Scriptures, and shewn the doctrine of 
Christ and his Apostles from thence, there would be both more 
peace and truth among us than there is. I am acquainted with a 
few people, who are in some degree instructed in the doctrines of 
the New Testament, and who have had an opportunity to join in 
mobs; and I can venture to say, that they would suffer the loss of 
all they have, before they would enter into a riot against the laws of 
their country. For what use are then Bishops, Deans, Doctors, 
and dignified Clergy, to the government, when they do not instruct 
the subjects in those principles which only can make them good 
members of society ? It is no better than robbery on the highway, 
to swear to serve the government, and yet neglect those duties 
they have solemnly promised to fulfil. If a military officer is found 
jn neglect of his duty, he is either broke or severely reprimanded. Ye 
are the servants of the government as much as military officers are, 
and every whit as well paid for your service, and yet ye can neglect 
your duty without either fear or loss. Whatever ye may gain by 
the alliance between church and state, the government are visibly 
considerable losers. What is the reason, gentlemen, that you are 
so fond to have a representation in parliament? Is it to take care of 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 37 



the privileges of the church, or to watch over the emoluments? The 
best way to take care of the church is to watch over your flocks, 
and do the duty of Christian ministers. 

Sinners as you are, one cannot but have pity upon you. When 
the ox is feeding for the slaughter, and grazing in the finest pasture, 
he is more to be pitied than those cattle which roam at large on 
barren mountains. They receive what is necessary to preserve life, 
and have liberty; hut though his entertainment be good, his plea- 
sure is but short. He falls in a short time under the axe, and his 
pleasures are soon ended. There is all the probability in the world 
that you have your good things only in this life ; and one cannot 
well vindicate Providence if it were otherwise. The parable of the 
rich man is worthy of your most serious consideration. He was 
clothed in scarlet and purple, as you are, and fared sumptuously 
everyday, — when the dogs of his house were kinder to the poor 
than he was. He died — and lifted up his eyes — where? — the Lord 
only knows where, and them that are with him. May God preserve 
all sinful Doctors from being his companions ! Ail your hope is, 
that Christ died for sinners, the chief of them not excepted. You 
are the chief of sinners; others are little, when compared to you. 
You sit in courts some of you, and enjoy the chief seats ; but you 
are sinners notwithstanding. Your only plea before God is mercy; 
you will be considered, not as Doctors, but as sinners, if ever you 
be saved. May God pardon all your sins for Christ's sake. 
Amen. 



SERMON III. 

Matthew, xxiii. 8. 

But be not ye called Rabbi : for one is your Master, even Christ, and 
all ye are brethren. 

A LMOST all men confess and allow a kind of brotherhood 
between man and man ; yet almost every one would wil- 
lingly be master over his brethren, if he could. But what if all men 
should be found to be of one mind on this point? There would 
be no prerogative without usurpation. The fact is, all men, who 
are not under the power and influence of our Saviour's gospel and 
commandments, are of the same mind concerning prerogative. 
They would all have power, if they could obtain it. One would 
scarcely imagine there could be any disagreement, where there is 
such uniformity of temper; and yet it is uniformity which is 

G the 



38 



SERMON III. 



the occasion of the difference : for all cannot be masters ; and every 
one would if he could. There are but few who think not them* 
selves worthy of power, and are fond of enjoying it, when they can 
reach it. 

In civil matters, it is necessary, for the good of society, that men 
should give up part of their natural rights for the sake of securing 
the rest ; otherwise there would be no laws for securing property 
against powerful invaders, when their power and ambition were 
united to hurt the public weal. It is to prevent the strong from 
hurting the weak, and for securing the public peace and tranquil- 
lity, that every man gives up some part of his natural privileges. 
And it is for this reason that individuals are supported in their pro- 
perties ; for every one having contributed a little for the aid of go- 
vernment and the laws, they mutually join to support these laws 
against any individual who should break them, by doing injury to 
the privileges of the community. 

The case is otherwise in matters of conscience; for no man can 
lawfully part with any of his Christian privileges, without re- 
nouncing the lordship of his Saviour, and the rights of conscience: 
for where there are plain and positive laws imposed by the autho- 
rity of Jesus Christ upon all Christians, these laws cannot be 
altered without his permission. It is upon this head that all those 
do err, who draw their arguments for religious policy from the 
forms or principles of civil government. They generally forget 
that our Saviour hath given his church a perfect system,— ^which 
can neither be added to, nor diminished, without renouncing his 
authority and jurisdiction. Christ hath the whole power of making 
laws for his church committed to him, and hath perfectly esta- 
blished his kingdom with regard to all rules of faith and duty. 
But he has left the kingdoms of the world to settle their own go? 
vernment according to the laws of nature, and the dictates of 
human prudence. 

I suppose it cannot be proved that Jesus Christ, as the Saviour 
of men, had any hand in settling the civil government of Rome,— • 
or that he gave any laws concerning what form of civil government 
should be in any country: but it is plain that our Saviour's apos- 
tles, by the inspiration of the Spirit, commanded every soul to be 
subject to those higher powers; which implies that those ma- 
gistrates were right in their constitution, however far they might 
be wrong in their administration. This says, that men, by the 
dictates of human prudence, may form a lawful system of civil 
government; yet it cannot be proved, that they have any right 
under the gospel to form any system of religion, or can form any 
worthy of the divine approbation, but that which Jesus Christ 
hath appointed in the New Testament. Those dignities, powers, 
and prerogatives, assumed or claimed by some men over the rest, 
in any matters properly religious, have no foundation in the Chris- 
tion religion; for as all Christians are brethren, so Jesus Christ is 
their Master and Lord, and hath completely settled the whole 

order 



tO DOCTORS m DIVINITY. 89 

§rder of brotherhood in his church, by special rules in the Scrip- 
tures. Every new invention of power or prerogative is an en- 
croachment on the wisdom and pre-eminence of Christ, and that 
equality among brethren which he hath appointed — " All ye are 
brethren" 

Men may, in certain cases, give up the rights of private judgment 
in civil matters, but cannot in any thing which pertains to reli- 
gion, or is a matter of conscience. In matters of civil policy they 
may even choose their own legislators; but in religion they can- 
not, without being guilty of treason against Christ, who is ap- 
pointed by God King in Zion — " Yet have I set my King on my 
holy hill of Zion." Religion and civil government are for the 
most part formed according to those plans which pride or interest 
suggest. Hence some want to found dominion on grace ; and 
others choose to found religion on the dictates of human pru- 
dence and the laws of nature. Both act absurdly; the laws of 
nature and prudence will direct men to form systems of civil 
policy, suited to the conditions of states and kingdoms of this 
world, but are insufficient to direct them in what manner God is 16 
be worshipped, or how we may become accepted in his sight. The 
religion of the gospel clearly teacheth us all those things which 
belong to our everlasting peace, and how we ought to worship 
and serve God as Christians ; but does not in the least interfere 
with any system of civil policy, or give any directions concerning 
them, further than to teach Christians to be obedient to the powers 
that be, not for wrath, but conscience sake. 

One would think it might be a natural enough reflection, and 
what the nature of the thing does suggest, when men are fond of 
assuming degrees of honour and dignity in the church of Christ, 
Are they commanded or forbidden by Christ, or warranted or pro- 
hibited by the Christian religion ? To know which were the case, 
might be sufficient to determine any Christian ; yet we see many, 
who assume that worthy name, behaving quite contrary to the 
laws of their Saviour, when he forbiddeth his disciples to be called 
Rabbi ; they never mind his word, but aspire after that title. 

The Rabbis, among the Jews, pretended they had a power to 
bind and loose men at their pleasure — of parcelling out to the people 
the measure of their faith, and the rules of their duty, when, at the 
same time, they were no way remarkable for either their own faith 
or obedience. They pretended they had a right to impose articles 
of religion upon the commop people, and made it their study to 
establish their own importance, by persuading them their claim 
was good ; and, having first assumed titles of dignity, they endea- 
voured to support them by as much power and authority as they 
could obtain. 

But perhaps it may be said, What relation have these Jewish 
practices and titles to our modern Doctors of Divinity ? As the 
apostle says, much every way. They are formed upon the same 
plan, and practise the same employment. If any should ques- 
tion 



40 



SERMON III. 



tion the truth of this, I shall refer them to Doctor Prideaux*. 
Doctors, in all ages of the world, and in all religions, when they 
could obtain the power, have pursued the same ends. There never 
were any Rabbis in the church of God, who had his approbation, 
either in the Old or New Testament dispensations Those digni- 
ties were founded on the perversion of true religion. Their original 
use and signification are derived from their skill in explaining 
traditions, and their wisdom in handing them safe down to poste- 
rity. The title of Rabbi> or Doctor of Divinity t is coeval with 
traditions and the commandments of men; and has been conti- 
nued in the church for the reason it was first assumed : for it is 
observable enough, that church honours and preferments are, for 
the most part, conferred upon such as are zealous maintainers of 
the traditions of the elders. And it will be found to be a very 
rare thing for any person to receive honour and dignity for his 
knowledge in the Scriptures, unless it run in the channel of some of 
the established systems of human policy. 

Before I proceed to shew the modern qualifications of modern 
Doctors of Divinity, I must, in a few paragraphs, consider a Rabbi 
of the amphibious kind, — who is both Doctor in Divinity, and civil 
magistrate, — who assumes the cure of souls, and the care of civil 
interest. This is a very strange sort of a creature; for it hath two 
makers — I should have said three. The church makes him a 
minister, or, if you please, the bishop; the university makes him a 
Doctor; and the king makes him a justice of the peace. A Doc- 
tor of this kind is a very dangerous sort of animal ; for in case 
you should not behave with due respect towards the Doctor, either 
through ignorance of his worth or dignity, the magistrate presently 
lays hold on you, and will make you pay soundly for the defect of 
your understanding. He has power to put the poor in the stocks, 
and make them suffer for not being rich; and if they will not 
starve patiently like Christians in their own houses, he can make 
them smart severely for it, if they come abroad to beg for God's 
sake. Very likely he may have reasons for his practice : for as he 
well knows how the gentlemen of the vestry dispose of the money 
collected for the relief of the poor, he does not choose that any 
should so much affront them, as to come abroad, and say they are 

* " For there were two sorts of schools anciently among the Jews, the schools 
of the Masorites, and the schools of the Rabbis. The former taught only the 
Hebrew language, and to read the Scriptures in it; the others, to understand the 
Scriptures, and all the interpretations of them, and were the great Doctors of 
Divinity among them ; to whom the Masorites were as much inferior, as the 
teachers of grammar schools among us are to Professors of Divinity in our 
universities." Prideaux' Connect, p. 514. 

It is manifest, according to Prideaux, that the Rabbis were really Doctors of 
Divinity; for they assumed, like our Doctors, the prerogative of expounding and 
interpreting the Scriptures ; and nothing was received into religious practice 
till once they gave it sanction. Yet, after all, they did little more than assume 
the dignity; for they did not teach the knowledge of the Scriptures to the 
people: for our Saviour says, " they took away the key of knowledge." 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



41 



in want ; for if there be sufficient money collected for the relief of 
the poor of the parish, when multitudes are crying in the streets 
for hunger, it signifies as much as that the money collected hath 
been otherwise disposed of. But the Doctor, in character of justice of 
the peace, being himself somewhat concerned in the vestry, endea- 
vours to support the honour of his friends by his authority. 

If there be any truth in what the Apostle writes to Timothy, this 
amphibious creature is not a soldier of Jesus Christ, because he en- 
tangles himself with the affairs of this life : for, says the apostle, 
" no man being a soldier entangleth himself with the cares of this 
life, that he may approve himself to him who hath called him to 
he a soldier" 

All those Doctors who manage and direct the spiritual courts 
are of the same kind — a mixture of dominion and grace. This 
blending of civil and religious offices and powers is well characterized 
by Butler in his Hudibras: — 

" Sure 'tis an orthodox opinion. 
That grace is founded on dominion. 
Great piety consists in pride: 
To rule is to be sanctify' d ; 
To domineer and to controul 
Both o'er the body and the soul, 
Is the most perfect discipline 
Of church-rule, and by right divine. 

This Doctor 

Is of a mongrel diverse kind, 
Cleric before, and lay behind : 
A lawless, linsey-woolsey brother, 
Half of one order, half another; 
A creature of amphibious nature, 
On land a beast, a fish in water; 
That always preys on grace or sin ; 
A sheep without, a wolf within." 

Doctors ought to remember how much they act out of character* 
as teachers of divinity, when they assume civil offices which are 
incompatible with real Christianity; for it must undoubtedly be 
a truth, whether the Doctors allow it or not, that no man can 
lawfully join together what God hath separated. It will be founcl 
abundantly evident from the New Testament, that the ministers of 
the gospel have neither liberty nor time to be rulers in the kingdoms 
of this world. Their office belongs to another kingdom, which is 
expressly declared not to be of this world. It cannot be reasonably 
denied, that our Lord hath left complete rules and directions for 
every office and officer in his church : — but it will very much 
difficult all the*Doctors in England to prove, that ever our Saviour 
gave any directions for justices of the peace in his church. We 
are informed, before he ascended into heaven, he left some apostles, 
some teachers, some prophets, governments, helps, for the edifica- 
tion of his body ; — but we do not find the least notice of a justice 
of the peace* Perhaps it may be alleged, that this office is im- 



43 



SERMON III. 



plied in governments : but it ought to be remembered, that their 
office is entirely confined to the church, whereas the office of 
justice is purely a civil one. This is certainly an attempt to serve 
two masters, which our Saviour has told us is impossible. Upon 
the New Testament plan it is absolutely impossible : — but I had 
forgot that the Doctors are only state-officers, and their church, 
the church of civil magistrates. In this church they may as well 
be justices of the peace as deans or prebendaries, provided they 
answer the purposes of the state. Officers in the gospel church 
they cannot justly pretend to be, without shewing their appoint- 
ment by Jesus Christ. This is the least thing that can he expected 
from them, when they pretend to act in his name. There is some 
reason to suppose, that were they to act as justices of the peace, or 
to assume the dignity of prebendaries without special commission 
from his Majesty, and the bishop of the diocese where they resided, 
there would be some inquiry made into their conduct. And is it 
not as reasonable, when they, in such characters, pretend to be 
ministers of Christ, that people inquire whether ever Christ 
appointed any such office-bearers in his church ? 

The clergy and the Doctors of the church had for a long time 
many serious squabbles concerning the power of the keys ; and it 
tvas not soon determined, whether one man or some hundreds had 
a right to open and shut the gates of heaven. At last the Bishop of 
Rome claimed the prerogative, and got them in his possession, and 
fixed them to his girdle. Alter all, he was not satisfied, but insisted 
upon having the sword also, that he might have it in his power to 
send those to hell, whom he thought fit to exclude from heaven. In 
those glorious days the church was " terrible as an army with ban- 
ners ;" and it was no easy matter to contest with the power of the 
church. Kings themselves were made to tremble, when his holi- 
ness began to let loose his thunder, and brandish his sword. But, 
by driving too fast, he jostled himself out of a considerable part of 
his power. The reformation commenced, and his authority was in 
many places rejected. England joined in the reformation ; she 
changed her pope, but not her popery : the Doctors still loved 
power, and endeavoured to keep as near the exemplar of Rome as 
they could. Tift new commonwealth was formed as like the old 
monarchy as circumstances would peimit, and the Doctors of the 
church were still pretty formidable. They found means to get 
new keys to open and shut the gates of heaven ; and though they 
durst not claim the sword by virtue of prerogative, yet they had 
address enough to borrow one from the magistrate, when they had 
occasion for it, and made tolerable good use of it on particular 
occasion^ They continued for a long time to slash one another 
pretty heartily, according as they had influence to obtain the sword, 
till Queen Elizabeth saw meet to take it from them, and put it in 
the scabbard ; yet to this day they retain the form of their ancient 
chivalry in carrying swords, though they dare not use them any 
farther than to frighten children who are like to prof e refractory. 

• The 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 43 



The desire which the clergy hath to perform the office of civil 
magistrates proceeds from the old habit and custom of carrying 
the sword in the church of Rome. It is some of the remaining 
dregs of popery. It is Like several other things which they have 
retained, oniy an imitation of the " mother of harlots " Custom hath 
given a sanction to the practice; and it is not looked upon as any 
bad thing, because it is common, and hath been long in fashion. 
But when we cannot find either precept or example for it in the 
New Testament, but much to the contrary, reason would say, that 
it should be laid aside among Christians. 

It is indeed a very sad truth, that custom bears a mighty sway 
in all things of little or no consequence, and also in things of the 
worst tendency to mankind; whereas we seldom find it becomes 
fashionable to be virtuous, honest, and pure. It any weight may 
be laid upon experience and observation, a man stands a better 
chance of being truly virtuous, by differing from the customs of the 
world than observing them ; for we cannot find in the history of 
mankind, when it was fashionable to keep the commandments of 
God universally. Antiquity, and the consent of mankind, are the 
poorest arguments for the justness of any cause, which any person 
can make use of; for the consent of the world has ever been on the 
wrong side of the question, since men began to multiply upon the 
earth. General practice and opinion have often given sanction to 
vice, that men might with impunity, and without reproach, fulfil 
any lust, and gratify any passion they had a mind. Vice has often 
been the reciprocal path to glory, and those who were strongest 
and wickedest have been the only heroes of history in some ages of 
the world. Thucydides observes, " That some of the ancient 
Greeks, who lived near the sea upon the continent, and also some 
of the ancient poets declared, that it was customary, when those 
who sailed backwards and forwards every day on those seas passed 
by, to ask them if they were pirates ; which was looked upon as 
no disgrace by either party, nor did they reproach one another for 
the practice*." Every semblage of power in the hands of cler- 
gymen is much to be dreaded by the laity; for it has always been 
found, since ever they possessed any, that they abused it when 
they were not under restraint. It is not easy to say what can be 
the reason of this perversity in them more than other men, which 
inclines them so much to tyranny, when they have authority. This 
seems to be the most probable : our Saviour never intended they 
should have any power; and it is no wonder they always go wrong 
when they act contrary to his intention. To this may be added : 
when mankind are such fools as to give up their natural rights into 
the hands of servants, the Almighty punisheth them for their stu- 

* AriXStTl $\ TUIV TE »)VEi«WTWV TiVtg ETi KOCi VVV 0?$ KOC^O? KOcXujg tSto clgav. x.<x\ et 

vrulkcuoi Tajy irovmuv, rug rrigug tuv KxroivXiovruv 7r<zvfcc%3 by-olco; !§«twvts?, e* X*ir«* 
tfon. ug yre uv wwQ&wtou a,X»^vruv to t§\ov 9 olg t hri^Xlg m tlSevou, hk 
ive^ttovruv. 



pidity, 



44 



SERMON III. 



pidity, by permitting those servants to tyrannize over them. The 
apostles of Jesus Christ could scarcely well imagine, that any of 
their successors would be so highly esteemed by the powers of 
this world, as to have the honour to be Lords Spiritual, and sit in 
parliament, They foresaw that Antichrist would arise; but they 
never considered him as their successor. If any Lords Spiritual 
whatever can claim their succession from the apostles, the Bishop 
of Rome has just as good a claim as any other. As a Spiritual 
Lord, it is of no great consequence where he reside, whether at 
Rome or Canterbury., Whether any such creature ever descended 
from the apostles, is the question. Now, if Lords Spiritual are 
the successors of the apostles, it would tempt one to think, that 
the apostles were Lords Spiritual also. But how are we disap- 
pointed, when we read their epistles, to hear them say, tf We are 
not lords of your faith, but helpers of your joy ; we are your ser- 
vants for Jesus 1 sake." And when our Lord's words to his apos- 
tles are considered — " The rulers of the Gentiles exercise lordship; 
but it shall not be so among you, 11 one would be ready to conclude, 
that no lords whatsoever could be the successors of the apostles. 

There is all the reason one would desire to have, to conclude 
that the apostles had no successors at all. Our Saviour never sent 
any by second hand in that character. When Judas lost his bishop- 
ric, the Lord placed another by the immediate direction of a lot, 
and shewed whom he would have to be his apostle by his own imme- 
diate interposition. He appeared to Paul, and called him,, and 
appointed him to be the apostle of the Gentiles. To this Paul bears 
witness when he says, M I am not behind the very chiefest of the 
apostles, for I have seen the Lord. 11 But the apostles left no suc- 
cessors, nor could they appoint any to succeed them in that station ; 
for there was no more occasion for them after divine revelation was 
finished : teachers and preachers of the gospel have succeeded to 
them, but are not their successors. If any persons assume this 
character of successors of the apostles, we must desire them to 
shew the signs of their apostleship. The apostles were, very likely, 
typical, and were only symbols of Bishops and Lords Spiritual ; and 
we may say, if this were the case, that the antitypes have far 
surpassed the glory of the types in outward splendour. The types 
of the Old Testament were very splendid ; and Christ, who was 
the antitype, surpassed them only in divine and spiritual glory. 
But if the apostles were types of modern bishops, we may truly 
say, that the types excelled in the spirit, but the antitypes in 
the letter. Were the fishers of Galilee to behold those who call 
themselves their successors, they would certainly think there was 
some mistake in the case, when they saw the purple mitre and lawn 
sleeves, and were informed how many thousands yearly income they 
had. They would be ready to repeat their old maxim — <e Not 
many noble, not many mighty, are called ; but God hath chosen 
the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, and things that 
are not. to bring to nought things that are" 

I shall 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



45 



t shall proceed to shew the modern qualifications of modem 
Doctors of Divinity. 

1st. Negatively (as a Doctor might say), it is not necessary 
that a Doctor be a man of much learning. This will, I hope, 
appear evident at hist view ; tor why should a man endeavour — • 
what occasion is there-^-to obtain, by close application and hard 
study, what may be had by the interest of a friend at several 
hundred miles distance? The degree itself answers the purpose 
of every branch of learning; for every body is ready to allow 
that Doctors of Divinity must be very deeply learned. However 
ignorant they may be before they are graduated, they are after- 
wards accounted very learned and knowing men. There is all 
the reason in the world for this opinion; for no judicious person 
could reasonably believe, that a body of learned men would 
prostitute the honours of an university on fools, or men of no 
literature. Perhaps this may be one reason why the universities 
dub so many Doctors: — The masters are at little pains to instruct 
them when they are under their care; and they generally come 
away from college as ignorant as they went to it. For this 
reason those learned bodies furnish them with diplomas, lest their 
own ignorance or indolence should be called in question. Were 
the universities to refuse degrees to their own students when they 
ask them, on account of their ignorance, it is very likely some 
curious people would inquire concerning the reasons of so much 
ignorance, — and might be ready to send their sons elsewhere, or 
conclude that university education was useless. It is, therefore, 
no difficulty to obtain degrees from universities speciali gralid, 
because the masters qualify them to receive them. If a man 
have money or friends, he will find little difficulty in obtain- 
ing a Doctor's degree from any university, though his quan- 
tity of learning be very small. 

The universities in this case ought not to be blamed ; for, . in 
bestowing their favours in such a manner, they imitate the Best 
of beings, who bestows his favours on the worthless and undeser- 
ving. But the University Doctors differ from the Almighty in 
this particular,— that the honours which he confers make men 
wiser and better; but the honours which they bestow make them 
neither wiser nor better, but a little more vain. The greatest 
part of diplomas from universities are only certificates that men 
are asses; for many, who never were at an university in their 
life-time, have suc h certificates that they are learned men for 
the true import of a Doctor's degree is, that he who bears it is a 
man of learning: but how shall the universities know this, 
without first examining the person who makes application for 
a degree ? 

It is not necessary for a Doctor of Divinity to know much 
divinity: for though one would be ready to imagine from his 
title, that a Doctor was much skilled in religious knowledge, 
yet it is quite a mistake;— for many, who never studied Divinity 

H six 



46 



SERMON 111. 



six weeks, have commenced very good Doctors. One would he 
ready to imagine, that the knowledge of the Scriptures might be 
a needful qualification for a Doctor of Divinity: but this if 
altogether a mistake likewise; for several good Doctors can 
make very good fashionable sermons, without ever citing a single 
passage of Scripture, except the text, which they can take care 
never so much as pay the least regard to. It would spoil a well- 
composed discourse to have texts of Scripture warped in, here 
and there, on every turn, and would be ready to make ignorant 
people believe, that Doctors could not compose sermons without 
assistance from divine revelation: — and in case, at the desire of 
the bishop, or the mayor and corporation of some city, such 
sermons should be printed, it would very much spoil the beauty 
of a page, to have passages of Holy Scripture standing in Italics 
in the midst of a genteel sermon. For some such reasons as 
these, modern Doctors have taken special care, in these latter 
days, not to tarnish polite sermons with antiquated portions of 
Scripture: — and to say the truth, it would be very imprudent to 
make use of any Scripture in such discourses; for there is gene- 
rally so great a difference in sentiment between the Scripture and 
those sermons, that it would not be very safe to post them on the 
same page, lest some discerning readers should perceive the 
difference. For should Doctors publish sentiments contrary to 
those texts they quote for proof of their arguments, it might 
cause their judgment to be questioned. Doctors have never 
been very remarkable for understanding the Scriptures; for it 
can be remembered, as far back as the diets of Augsburgh and 
"Worms, how one man, by a good use of the Scriptures, put to 
silence the Pope's legate and several other Doctors. Many of 
the ancient Rabbis, as well as our modern ones, did not reckon it 
any proper requisite for a Doctor to be well skilled in the Scrip- 
tures; for the Italian bishops, who assisted at the council of 
Trent, were very much deficient in this branch of knowledge, and 
desired the Dutch divines to form their arguments on the school- 
men, and not on Scripture, because they were not acquainted 
therewith. But, to do justice to our modern Doctors, it must 
be confessed, that very few of them, in either their printed 
sermons or other writings, make any mention of Scripture at all; 
and those who do are least agreeable to the taste of the public. 

I need not say, how unnecessary it is to be any way learned in 
the writings of the Greek and Latin fathers: for those laborious 
ancients have written more than any man can get time to read, 
without spoiling his good humour, or hurting his social dispo- 
sition. Yet it might be expected, that all the Doctors of the 
Church of Fngland would be somewhat skilled in them, seeing 
they have no other authority for their religion. But where there 
are two evils, the least undoubtedly ought to be chosen; for it, no 
doubt, contributes more to social happiness to remain ignorant 
of some things, than by too severe study and application to 

acquire 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 47 

acquire a monkish disposition, which renders a man unfit for 
company: — for what does it signify where religion is founded, 
when it is established by law, and Doctors may have their livings 
by it without understanding much of it. The laws are better 
than a thousand arguments for securing religion; for, as long as 
ihese are on its side, nobody is able to do it any harm. Besides, 
what signifies religion which is merely founded on argument, 
without a living secured to it? for though it may give a man 
some satisfaction when he is going to die, yet it does not afford 
him any thing to live upon; and if Doctors were only to live by 
faith, there is some reason to fear they would be obliged to take 
down their equipages. There are no arguments so powerful in 
these days to prevail with men to be religious, as good large 
livings secured by law. These will convince multitudes of 
people sooner than dry arguments, taken from either the Scrip- 
tures or the fathers. Father Paul says, M that Friar James 
Hogastrat, a Dominican inquisitor, wrote more to the purpose 
against Luther, than all the rest of his opponents; for, setting 
aside reason, he exhorted the Pope to convince Martin with 
chains, fire, and flames." This was argumenlum baculinum. 
But yet this has been known to fail, when argumenturn aureum 
has proved effectual. Though the opinion of the ancients be all 
the foundation the Doctors of our church have to go upon, yet 
it would be no recommendation to any man to an university to 
say, he had been so weak as to read them. And, to say the truth, 
there are very few who come from the universities with as much 
knowledge in Greek as to be able to read them, unless they have 
made application without the knowledge of the masters. 

Practical religion is so far from being any qualification to a 
Doctor in Divinity, that it is even accounted criminal in students 
to have the appearance of it; and one of the most eminent semi- 
naries of learning in Europe has of late used their best endeavours 
to purge it totally out of their university*. Some narrow-minded 
people have vented their spleen against the Doctors of that 
university for a late expulsion of some students for praying and 
reading the Scriptures, but without any just cause or reason : 
for, as the masters and heads of houses in that seminary of learn- 
ing are placed there to fit and qualify men for those stations of 
life in which they may make some figure in church or state, they 
do no more than what they are in duty bound, when they endea- 
vour to prevent their students from failing into habits and prac- 
tices which may hinder them from being preferred to offices 
in the church, or under the crown; for all men may easily 
perceive, that prayer and reading the Scripture is by no means 
the road to preferment in either church or state at this present 
juncture. The heads of houses would be unworthy of that 
office they bear in the university, as directors of youth, if they 



See the Shaver's Sermon on a late expulsion. 



did 



48 



SERMON III. 



did not endeavour to prevent them from falling into practices 
which ma}' entirely frustrate the ends of their education; for it 
is abundantly evident, that very few are disposed to attend the 

universities of O d and C- ge, unless they design to make 

some advantage thereby in either church or state. Should young 
men be permitted to read the Scripture, and fall into the custom 
of praying, they would soon contract such habits of devotion, as 
would render them unfit for either the courts of bishops, or the 
company of ministers of state. Let any person, when he has a 
mind, try the experiment to seek after preferment in either 
church or state by piety and devotion, and he may pray and read 
the Scriptures till he die, and finish his course without any pre- 
ferment. Those Methodist students were certainly ill advised to 

go to O d to study divinity, and learn to pray or expound 

the Scriptures ; for, according to all accounts, divinity is least 
the study there of any thing else, except mathematics, and the 
practice of morality. But what Methodists have to do with any 
branches of literature is not easy to conceive, when ignorance is 
the mother of their devotion; for, if they were capable of read-* 
ing the Scriptures before they went to college, they were much 
better qualified than many of their preachers whom I have been 
acquainted with. It is very probable these young men were like 
several others who go to universities, wanted to have the character 
of learned men, and yet sauntered away their time in idleness, 
as their friend Mr. W— — -d did before them. It is enough to 
constitute any man a scholar in the judgment of the ignorant, if 
he has been once at some university. Foolish ignorant people 
imagine, that no man can have learning unless he has spent some 
years at an university. This brings to my mind an argument 
which the divines brought against Mr. Chubb, namely, that he 
was a tallow-chandler. Because he had not had the benefit of 
an university education, they made light of his arguments against 
revelation : but had Mr. Chubb had but the right side of the 
question, there is much reason to conceive, he would have made 
as much of it as any of those regular-bred academicians. 
According to all accounts, a late metropolitan never enjoyed the 
benefit of an university education. I do not despise nor make 
light ©f stated seminaries of learning; they are useful, and may 
do much good when properly directed, and supplied with good 
masters: but I know from experience, that any person of tole- 
rable capacity, if he is a little inclined to indolence, may come 
away from any university in Britain with a pretty good share of 
ignorance. But masters in universities ought not to be blamed 
for suffering their scholars to remain ignorant of the principles of 
■virtue and sound literature, seeing their success in the world, 
and their way to preferment, do not depend on these monkish 
qualifications. 

The V — C= — — r and heads of houses in O d acted a very 

consistent part, when they expelled six young men from their 

university 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 49 



university for praying and reading the Scriptures; for they well 
knew it would be nothing but waste of time for them to continue 
there, if they intended to pursue such practices. It was doing 
them real service to expel them; for thereby they might save 
money, and answer all the intended purposes of life as well. 
The masters of O — — d were abundantly sensible of what ill 
consequence the practice of prayer and reading the Scripture 
would be to their university, and therefore were careful to put a 
stop to it in due time; for had this practice been permitted, it 
might have perhaps infected all the rest of the colleges, and 
hindered gentlemen from resorting to that seminary of learning. 
It is therefore abundantly evident, that the Doctors did nothing 
but their duty in expelling six young men from their university 
for praying, and reading the Scriptures. Had they expelled them 
for keeping mistresses, for drunkenness, or swearing, there would 
have been some reason to have complained of the Doctors for 
want of judgment and understanding; for in this case they would 
have marred their progress in those branches of education which 
most recommended young men to the esteem and favour of the 
great. It is by being skilled in those polite exercises, that they 

are qualified to take their station as L — ds of the T y, 

J s on the B— h, or B s in C ■ — n. It is at the uni- 
versity that men learn those accomplishments, which are neces- 
sary to qualify them to support with reputation the highest 
offices in church or state. But they would be worse than fools 
who should imagine that prayer and knowledge in the Holy 
Scriptures could be of any service in supporting such reputation; 

for though all our B ps and N — les for the most part keep 

chaplains, yet they do not mean thereby to be troubled with 
prayers and family worship: this practice only serves to qualify 
clergymen to hold more livings than one, but has not the remotest 
reference to any religious duty. 

Almost all the universities in Britain are something shy in 
granting th.e degree of Doctor in Divinity to a very religious 
person: for an eminent principal of a certain northern university 
is known to have refused that honour to a brother clergyman, 
because he was over-strict in his religious conduct, and on that 
account reckoned troublesome. 

Religion is the only thing to cause a man to be suspected of 
having a bad heart; for it is now such a rare thing to find a 
clergyman religious, that, when any man happens to have more of 
it than the rest, they suspect he has some ill design concealed 
under it. The least he can expect is to be stigmatised with the 
epithet of hypocrite or fool. 

The character of a good man has changed its signification 
much of late. Formerly he was accounted a good mart, who 
worshipped his Maker, and performed his duty to his neighbour 
as the Scripture directs, — who attended the ordinances of the 
gospel, — relieved the distressed, — fed the hungry, — clothed the 

naked, 



50 



SERMON I'll. 



naked, — and shunned the company of vile persons. But now 
he is accounted a good man, who entertains well, — can cheer the 
hearts of the Doctors with a good glass, — who observes good 
breeding, and follows good humour, — who can keep a mistress, 
and wink at fornication. And though the widow and fatherless 
be starving at his very door, and his brother be pining away his 
days in prison, he does not afford them the least aid ; yet he will 
stand in the Doctors' calendar of good men. But let any man 
appear strict in his conversation, and shew a zeal for godliness, he is 
sure to be stigmatized with the character of a fellow of a bad heart, 
I think it will appear, that neither much learning, nor much 
religion, is necessary to qualify a man to be a Doctor in Divinity. 
Yet, though this be true, they must not give up their pretensions 
to it. This would never do: and therefore it is, 

%dly. A qualification of a modern Rabbi, to appear very 
learned with little or no learning at all. This is a very nice but 
necessary endowment: it requires little study, hut needs a good 
claim. Many, who know very little, pass for very wise and 
learned men, by pretending to a great deal of knowledge and 
literature. There are two ways of supporting this character: — by 
insinuating to such as know no better, that all who are not 
Doctors, or their very good friends, are all weak and illiterate, 
and that the reason why they have not got a Doctor's degree is, 
because they have no learning. This will have a prodigious 
effect upon the vulgar, who are always ready to conclude, that 
such as are given to defamation are themselves extremely virtu- 
ous. To this it may be necessary to add some few learned sen- 
tences, which may be easily gathered out of the magazines, 
newspapers, or phrase-books. Again, if any man who is not a 
Doctor is reputed very learned and wise, it may be necessary to 
give a hint concerning his ignorance of some special branch of 
literature, with some small notice that the Doctor himself 
excels in it, and conclude with spouting a Latin oM' Greek sen- 
tence, though he should not understand it. This will make a 
Doctor pass for a deep learned man among those who are no 
more but the echo of fame, always repeating what sounds 
loudest without inquiring any farther. I have known some 
persons attain to the character of being very strict and religious, 
merely by spying out other people's faults, and reporting them; 
and what may hinder a Doctor from attaining to the character of 
being very learned by the same means? I forbear mentioning 
some certain facts, lest I should offend the modesty of some 
learned Doctors. 

But I would at the same time advise, the Doctors to take special 
care in what companies they attempt to display their ait, lest 
there should be present some old schoolmaster, or young scholar, 
who has not forgotten all his Latin and Greek, and who may 
make free with the Doctor's learning when his back is turned. 
For I remember once being in company with a spruce young 

Doctor 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 51 



Doctor in Divinity, who had a mind to be very learned, and 
began to repeat some passages out of the classics, when a wag 
who was present affirmed, there never were any such sentences in 
these authors : upon which there arose a content, which could 
not be decided without the books themselves. It happened that 
the landlord's son, who was a boy at school, had the two authors 
referred to; which were presently brought to settle the point in 
dispute. The Doctor could not find his sentences; and when 
he was desired to render a paragraph into English, did not at all 
understand it, which put the good Rabbi into some confusion in 
presence of the company. 

If a Doctor of Divinity be laid under the hardship of com- 
posing a sermon, he may display a good deal of erudition without 
being very learned. He has no more to do but collect a number 
of technical terms out of the dictionaries, and scatter them 
through his discourse: he can call one thing a synechdoche, 
another a prosopopeia, a third a meioszs, and a fourth a catachresis. 
This will make him pass for a deep scholar with the greatest 
part of common audiences he may have occasion to preach in. 
And in case he should have occasion to hold forth before some 
better sort of audience, in time of Lent or in Easter term, Doc- 
tor Barrow's sermons, and Bishop Tillotson's, are at hand, ready 
for transcribing ; and a school-boy may be got for a few shillings 
who may write one of the best of them off in a fair legible 
hand. With one of these the Doctor may venture to St. James's 
Chapel with all manner of confidence, and preach before the 
royal family, if he is called to it. But I would advise every 
Doctor, when he preacheth the same sermon oftentimes over, 
to take care and keep it clean ; for I have seen some Doctors 
have such dirty sermons lying before them, that it was a shame 
to look on them. They appeared as if they had been taken from 
the bottom of a pie, or lien in the chimney corner for a quarter 
of a year. A spruce well-dressed doctor, and a dirty sermon 
lying before him, looks exceedingly ill. 

What has been already observed with regard to appearing 
learned, may serve to illustrate the necessity of appearing reli- 
gious on some occasions. For though Doctors of Divinity 
are not obliged to have any religion among themselves, nor 
is it accounted good breeding to make use of any in genteel com- 
panies; yet there may be seasons when it may be necessary to 
observe some form of it, and keep up some conversation about 
it. If a young graduate should happen, through some misfor- 
tune, to be lodged in some old gentlewoman's house where religion 
is not quite extinguished, and who has a living to dispose of, he 
must take care of appearing altogether in the character of a di- 
vine; he must also pay some regard to the Christian character, 
and endeavour to maintain some religious conversation. But 
then he must study to shew how unreasonable some men's reli- 
gion is, which is only founded on Scripture, and is not immedi- 



52 



SERMON IIL 



ately established on the fitness of things, and the good of the 
whole. He must shew that the Almighty, like Jupiter, is bound 
fast in fate, and is not the author of all truth;— that there are 
many truths independent on him, which Doctor Clarke and Lord 
Shaftsebury have, with great sagacity, discovered, which are the 
foundations of moral virtue; — and that many of the Heathens 
were as orthodox as the apostle Paul on the doctrine of predes- 
tination*. For this reason he must endeavour to persuade the 

old 

* " Quinetiam infelix virtus, et noscia felix; 

Et male consultis pretium est, prudentia fallax ; 
Nec fortuna probat causas, sequiturque merentes, 
Sed vaga per cunctos nullo discrimine fertur. 
Scilicet est aliud, quod nos cogatque, rogatque, 
Majus, et in proprias ducat mortalia leges, 
Attribuatque suos ex se nascentibus annos, 

Fortunaque vices. 

Denique si non est, fati cur traditur ordo? 

Cunctaque temporibus certis Ventura canuntur? 

Nec tamen haec ratio facinus defendere pergit, 

Virtutem suis fraudare in praemia donis. 

Nam neque mortiferas quisquam minus oderk herbas, 

Quod non arbitrio veniunt, sed semine eerto. 

Gratia nec levior tribuetur duloibus escis, 

Quod natura dedit fruges, non ulla voluntas? 

Sic bominum inenti tanto sit gloria major; 

Quod coelo gaudente venit, rursusque noCentes 

Odarimus majus in culpam, poenasque creatos, 

Nec refert scelus unde cadat, scelus esse fatendum." 

ManLkjs* 

" Successless virtue sinks, while vice prevails ; 
And folly wins the prize, when prudence fails. 
He argues illj that from the fortune draws 
The goodness or the badness of a cause: 
Success on merit does not always wait; 
Both good and bad are found among the great. 
But some almighty poweFs impetuous force 
Marks out the way, and still directs the course ; 
The years that we must run, the length, the pace, 
And all the various turnings of the race. — 
Besides, were not events by fate enroll'd, 
How can their certain order be foretold ? 
How can the prophets sing of future doom, 
And in the present read the age to come? 
Nor does this reas'ning wickedness defend, 
Or rob fair virtue of its happy end. 
Whoever lik'd the more a pois'nous weed, 
Because 'tis bred from necessary seed ? 
Or who loves corn the less, who hates the vine, 
Because produc'd by nature, not design? 
Thus virtuous minds deserve the greater love, 
Since doom'd to act what heaven must approve; 
And we should hate those most whom fate has sent 
Crimes to commit, and suffer punishment : 
For crimes, from whatsoever cause they flow, 
Are still the same, since that they're crimes we know." 

CHEFCJI. 

Doctors 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



0ld lady to be charitable to infidels, and not be too severe upon 
Deists and unbelievers, who are generally good friends to the 
Doctors. But if the old gentlewoman should seem to differ from 
him very much, he must not carry the point too far, but give 
signs ot approbation to what she says; and if the family should 
propose a little unseasonable devotion before they go to rest, it 
will be his wisdom to comply with it, for the sake of the 
living. 

If the family are not for violent settlements, as is for the most 
part the practice in Scotland, he must not approve of them; but 
shew, by some indirect hints, what are the bad consequences of 
popular elections, and how unreasonable the people are in re- 
fusing such worthy and learned men. 

If the old gentlewoman has any cases of conscience to resolve^ 
he must endeavour not to seem ignorant of the exercise of the 
mind, but take as short a method of answering them as possible, 
lest he should expose his own ignorance. For in these parts, where 
religion is in fashion, it is customary for those who are any way 
remarkable for piety to have a great number of doubts and fears 
about the truth of Christianity ; and such as have the greatest num- 
ber are ordinarily accounted the best Christians, among the reli- 
gious people in Scotland, and the Methodists in England : they will 
not reckon any man a true believer, till he has first gone through 
his mental exercise of doubts and fears. The preachers contrive 
hard and difficult cases of conscience in their sermons, and an- 
swer them ; and the hearers, from this, learn to contrive some of 
their own, lest they should be thought to be behind others in 
true practical religion. There is a wonderful sympathy among 
those doubters; for if any one hear that another is in doubt, con- 
cerning the state of their soul, they will give them all speedy 

Doctor Clerk's fitness of things, and the eternal truths of the schools, seem 
io have the same signification with the heathen fate. Neither of them suppose 
any author, hut are mere abstract ideas; and do as much subject the Deity to 
necessity as any of his creatures. Yet, after all, it must be acknowledged, that 
the Heathens come as near the truth without revelation, as some of those called 
Christians have done with its assistance. For as the one made their Deus 
optimus mazimus subject to fate, so the others make their Supreme dependent 
on truths which are independent on him. But how they come to know any 
truths whatsoever independent on the will of God, is abundantly problematical* 
There is much reason to conclude, that Manlius, and other Heathens, were morel 
consistent in their opinion than our modern infidels: for, as far as we can learn 
from their writings, their fates were no more than terms which they made use of 
to express the highest attributes and purposes of their supreme Deity; and when 
they supposed Jupiter subjected to fate, they meant no more than that he wa3 
Obliged to act consistent with his attributes and purposes. 

An apostle, who seems to have understood the subject better, speaks with far 
greater propriety, when he says, If the Lord will, we will do this or that. It 
is highly probable, the heathen doctrine of fate and necessity was only a fable 
extracted from the Scripture account, of the purposes Of the Almighty; froni 
which it will follow, that all truths we ate capable of conceiving are derived 
from the Divine will, and that there are not any independent on his good 
pleasure. 

I assistance^ 



54 



SERMON III. 



assistance; but should they stand in need of meat, drink, and 1 
clothing, there is not one of an hundred will afford them a farthing. 
This is accounted legalism, and morality, which they consider 
&S contrary to faith, and therefore must be avoided by all good 
Christians. It is not a task for every Doctor to engage in, to 
undertake to resolve the cases of conscience of these saints mili- 
tant ; for should he answer as long as he shall live, he will find 
his work not well begun, for they can contrive cases more easily 
than he can answer them : neither is it safe to answer according 
to the meaning of words made use of in the case in question, for 
the querists often mean very different from what they express 
in words. I remember once a religious matron, who came to 
me with a case of conscience which she had laid before several 
people. She said she was very much concerned in her own mind 
about the case of her soul, for she thought she was a hypocrite. 
I told her, I had had the same opinion of her for a long time, and 
that she certainly thought very justly of herself. This resolved 
all her cases at once; for I never heard that ever she applied to 
any person after with any doubts. It is the method they take 
to make other people think well of them, to speak ill of them- 
selves; but they would be very much disconcerted if they were 
understood as they spake. 

But to return to our Doctor — He must take care, if the old 
lady is a follower of Mr. Whitefield, to say no ill of him till he 
get fairly out of the house. He must also take care of rapping 
out an oath in the fervour of his conversation, as Doctors will 
do on some occasions ; for this might mar all his hopes concern- 
ing the living, which, with the greatest part of Rabbis, is the 
one thing needful* 

3c%. A Doctor of Divinity must be of a social disposition: 
I do not mean that he ought to be a follower of conventicles, or 
a frequenter of praying societies; this would sour his temper, 
and spoil the goodness of his heart, and would be quite contrary 
to the rest of his character. Neither do I mean that he should 
be employed in visiting from house to house, praying, exhorting, 
and catechising his flock, if he has any; this would take up so 
much of his time, that it would hinder all his good fellowship. 
It is much to the honour of the Doctors of Edinburgh, that since 
the humour for degrees became predominant, they have laid 
aside these pastoral duties, except one or two, who would not 
Lave had the honour of a Doctor's degree, if they had justice 
done them. 

By a social disposition I understand a love for good company 
and good entertainment. A Doctor of a social disposition de- 
lights in the fellowship of persons of condition, whose manners 
are free and unconfined from the fetters of religious enthusiasm, 
which ordinarily sits fast on the vulgar; he is not startled at a 
few pleasurable freedoms, which ignorant common people call 
sins, but can run riot with the Doctors in eating or drinking to 

what 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 55 



what measure you please. The social disposition inclines one 
not to startle at half a dozen bottles of good claret, nor at an 
oath when a gentleman wants to ease his mind; nor will a Doc- 
tor, under the influence of this disposition, break up good com- 
pany by going home too soon at night; for I have heard of a 
good orthodox clergyman, who is now a Doctor, who continued, 
for the sake of good company, at a bottle of bo num magnum till 
three o'clock in the Sabbath morning, and preached very well 
that same forenoon. This was a noble example of a social dis- 
position. 

This temper of mind naturally disposes men to pursue those 
games and amusements which relax the mind from study and 
such cares as may ruffle the passions or spoil good humour; such 
as chess, cards, or backgammon. These diversions take off the 
thoughts from over-serious subjects, and let the mind go forth 
out of the manacles of devout consideration, to take an airing in 
the paths of pleasure and dissipation; that, after she hath scam- 
pered at large for a season in the field of vanity, she may return 
well refreshed to serious meditation. 

To this some might object, that when men once suffer their 
thoughts to rove at large after vain objects, it is not easy to fix 
them again on things profitable and advantageous. This, truly, 
is a very foolish objection ; for though they should never be able 
to fix their thoughts seriously upon any one subject, yet they 
have no loss, but advantage, because a dazzling variety of mixed 
objects, continually changing and giving place to new ones, gives 
more pleasure than the representation of one or two things. This 
I take to be the reason why men of such a social disposition run 
so often to company, and rush into a crowd and bustle of things. 
They cannot fix their minds stedfastly upon any one thing, and 
therefore rove from one object to another. Were men of that 
temper confined to any one company or employment, there is 
some reason to believe they would grow weary of them, as much 
as they do of their books, and in a little time turn altogether 
unsociable. But their very disposition preserves itself, by in- 
clining them to change the scene, and vary, and then return back 
where they began. This gives every one a share of their fellow- 
ship, and affords them an opportunity of displaying their social 
temper at large. 

But I would not be understood as if I meant that such social 
spirits should ever incline to keep company with any but persons 
of their own disposition, if they can help it, unless for some very 
visible advantage. For it would be altogether unnatural for 
them to associate with men of a different temper and disposition. 
Horace has shewn the absurdity of such a practice with great 
propriety: 

U Sed non ut placidis coeant immitia; non ut 
Serpentes avibus geminentur, tigribus agni." 

Men of social dispositions will only be inclined to communicate 

with 



56 



SERMON III. 



with persons of similar tempers ; for you will seldom see a true 
social Doctor in Divinity disposed to keep company with narrow* 
minded religious people, unless it be with a view to serve some 
very valuable purpose for the good of the whole. In this case 
the end sanctities the action; and the practice, which would be 
otherwise very unbecoming, and out of character, becomes lau<- 
dable and very commendable. It is from such principles as these, 
that many very learned Doctors both subscribe the confessions 
and creeds of their respective churches, and declare publicly 
they believe them, though they think and believe quite the con* 
trary; for, as they have very good ends for so doing, they very 
readily conceive, and with great propriety, that it is better to 
obtain a good end by ill means, than, through peevish strictness, 
to fall short of it altogether. This is what all sensible people do 
in other cases:— for who would not lose an hundred pounds 
rather than not gain a thousand ? It would be better to gain a 
thousand without such an inconveniency ; but when there are 
two evils, it is wisdom to choose the least; or, which is nearly 
the same thing, when one cannot obtain a good thing without a 
mixture of evil along with it, it is better to take both, than lose 
what is good. This some illiterate people will call doing evil 
that good may come of it ; but do not all the respectable part 
of mankind, and the better sort of people, do this daily? and 
why should Doctors in Divinity be denied the common privileges 
of mankind ? The rich and gay, the polite and better sort of 
people, are the chosen companions of social clergymen ; such as 
young officers, young squires, and young ladies. These give 
them no uneasiness with whimsical cases of conscience, or devout 
conversation, which tend much to spoil mirth and good humour, 
and have a strong influence in souring the tempers of polite 
Doctors. But with such choice company they may drink, when 
they should pray; dance, when they should read the Scriptures; 
and sing a luscious catch, when they should sing psalms. I 
"believe, however, I ma}^ save any farther trouble in illustrating 
this point; for, as I can observe, the worthy Doctors seem to un- 
derstand and practise this part of my subject pretty exactly. 

Atlihj. Doctors of Divinity must know the world. If it had 
not been for the sake of uniformity, I might have passed over 
this particular; for this is a qualification which almost every 
Doctor possesseth in great perfection. But I must beg to be 
allowed to stir up their pure minds by the way of remembrance. 
There are several good reasons why Doctors of Divinity should 
fce well acquainted with the world. 

1. Because it is the kingdom they belong to, where their main 
"business lies, and the stage whereon they all endeavour to act 
such a part as to render themselves conspicuous in their day and 
generation. It would be absurd for any man to pretend to make 
any remarkable figure in a kingdom whose laws he did not know, 
pr whose manners he was not acquainted with. And it would be 

as 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



57 



as absurd for Doctors of Divinity to imagine they could make any 
striking figure in this world, without being well initiated in all 
its manners and customs. Clergymen, in ancient times, acted a 
very foolish part; they made it their study to know the laws of 
heaven, and to obtain a meetness for the possession of an inhe- 
ritance there; and neglected, or rather despised, the pleasures of 
this present world. Now, who does not see the futility of such 
weak behaviour? This was something like the practice of our 
modern English noblemen and squires, who, before ever they 
know any thing of the laws or natural history of their own 
country, run off and leave it to make the tour of Europe, or 
perhaps go the length of Grand Cairo to study the Egyptian 
mummies, and examine the efflux of the Nile; for there are 
some very good Englishmen, who have taken all the dimensions 
of a pyramid, who never were at pains to take the dimensions 
of their own native country, as there have been in old times 
some tolerable good ministers, who were well acquainted with 
the gospel and the laws of Christianity, who knew but little of 
the affairs of this world, or the polite fashions of the times. 
Some old puritanical ministers, in all their conversation, were 
always talking about the land which is far off, while, if any one 
happened to introduce a conversation about politics, balls, and 
assemblies, they were silent, and knew nothing of the matter. 
But modern Doctors of Divinity behave more rationally ; they 
do not perplex their minds with far distant uncertainties, such 
as pleasures in the land that is afar off, when they can find 
pleasures at hand fit to gratify every passion and appetite. As 
there is not the least resemblance between the kingdom of hea- 
ven, and the kingdom which the Doctors belong to, it would be 
worse than folly to wander abroad in search of what is of no real 
service after it is attained. The knowledge of the gospel may 
well make a man unfit for making a proper figure in the king- 
doms of this world, but can never qualify any man under the 
New Testament dispensation, to make a reputable and re- 
spectable appearance among modern believers. But the know- 
ledge of the world is absolutely necessary to qualify a person to 
perform with reputation every part of a good modern Christian 
character. 

As Doctors are men who frequently set up to be the index of 
the fashion in this world, it is but requisite they should be well 
acquainted with all the present state of things in this life ; for 
how can they be supposed to be examples to others, when they 
are ignorant themselves of what is proper and becoming. It was 
for some such reason as this, that a Christian evangelist (as he 
was pleased to call himself), once in a sermon, which he preached 
before a considerable number of clergymen, and afterwards 
printed at his own desire, affirmed, that the knowledge of the 
world was a very necessary qualification for a Christian evange- 
list. This same gentleman understood what he was about; for 

it 



SERMON III, 



it would appear that he had his eye upon a Doctors cap when 
he preached that sermon, and, besides, was engaged in writing 
the history of England at the same time. And it is manifest, that 
no man can write the history of any kingdom of this world with- 
out sume small knowledge thereof. This brings me to ob- 
serve, 

9. That the knowledge of the world is necessary to qualify 
modern Doctors of Divinity for the perfect discharge of their 
duty, because they are the only men who are at any pains to 
write the !;isroiy of nations, and the manners of ancient and 
modem times. As long as our clergy only concerned themselves 
will) the gospel of Jesus Christ, and confined themselves to their 
pastoral duty of feeding the flock over which they were made 
overseei s, the world was in palpable darkness for want of good 
histories of past facts, and heroic achievements. The few small 
accounts which we had were not to be depended on, for many 
things false and fabulous were contained in them; and had it 
not been, that modern Doctors studied and understood the world 
better than all their predecessors, we had remained in ignorance 
to this day. Those religious monkish persons who lived in 
former generations, and made some attempts to write the history 
of their own times, were quite useless, for want of the knowledge 
of the world. They knew nothing of what they were about, 
otherwise they would not have left so much profitable business 
to our modern Doctors of Divinity; for I am credibly informed, 
that a worthy Doctor has picked up several thousand pounds 
worth of stories, which no preceding historian hath taken any 
notice of. Had these old blunderers known the world as they 
ought to have done, they might have had all that money in* their 
own pockets. It must require a prodigious knowledge of the 
world to find out. what happened more than two centuries ago, 
•when no preceding historians have taken any notice thereof. 
There were many notable men in their way in the time of 
Charles the Fifth, who did write a great many things concerning 
the transactions of these days; but, for the want of not knowing 
the world, they were not qualified to give a fair enough account 
of those things which they saw and heard. Had not the Bishop 
of Gloucester known the world better than all who were before 
him, how should he have found out that the book of Job was 
a modern performance, only written after the Babylonish capti- 
vity ; and that the ancient Jews were ignorant of a future state 
of rewards and punishments? The Doctor knew the world so 
well, that he understood that there was no possibility of proving 
his favourite point, and carrying on his new-projected defence of 
Christianity, without setting aside the book of Job as a modern 
religious novel, composed by Ezra, or some other well-disposed 
person, to encourage the Jews after their return from Babylon. 
All the old-fashioned writers, who were ignorant of the Egyptian 
hieroglyphics, and only pored upon the spirit and genius of the 

Hebrew 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



59 



Hebrew language, could never find out the secret which has 
wreathed the laurel on the brow of his Grace of Gloucester. 
Who, but one that knew the world in the most consummate 
manner, would have ventured so far, and shewed so much cri- 
tical skill and intrepidity, contrary both to the genius of the 
Hebrew language and the judgment of the learuedest writers of 
former times? But Doctor Warburton knew that the world 
loved novelty, and that the most daring hypothesis would meet 
with approbation, if it was out of the common tract. 

3. Because their portion and their hopes are in this world. 
According to our Saviour's words, a man's heart will be where 
his treasure is. Such as do not know the world, and yet have 
their minds set upon it, act a very unwise and irrational part; 
and as but very few of our Doctors, so far as their actions and 
behaviour declare, are at any trouble concerning things of ano- 
ther life, it is but very fit they should understand the things of 
this. If it be a true maxim, that men's hearts will be where 
their treasure is, it is manifest that the treasure of our modern 
Doctors is on earth, or in this world. This plainly sht-ws the 
necessity of their knowing the world : for who would account 
them wise and great men, if they were ignorant of their own 
treasure; they would not even be admitted as common shop- 
keepers, if they wanted this qualification. It is manifest that 
their treasure is here below from lb is consideration also, that 
the main bent of their minds, and their most zealous endeavours* 
are taken up about things in this life. To please the great in 
hopes of worldly preferment ; to eat well, and dress fine; to have 
their wives and children dressed d- la-mode, is their chief concern. 
To know the ways and means how to reach these ends must un- 
doubtedly be necessary qualifications to Doctors in Divinity. 
For a Doctor in Divinity not to know the world is as absurd as 
for a minister of state not to know the constitution of his country; 
or, rather, his own private interest; for we have seen some prime 
ministers enjoy the favour of their prince, and study their own 
interest, who neither knew nor cared for the constitution of their 
country. As Doctors have their hopes in this world, it is neces- 
sary they should know the reason and object of their hopes. All 
reasonable hope is founded upon the knowledge of some good 
thing, that there isat least a rational probability of enjoying some 
time or other; and unless men be well acquainted with the 
world, and the various manners and ways of acting in it, they 
cannot well hope for any better things than they are already in 
possession of. A Doctor ought to know what friends he hath ; 
how faithful they are; what they have to bestow; whether they 
have any livings in their gift; and if they are not already engaged 
to some other person. If he does not know these things," his 
hope is vain, and his expectation presumption. He should also 
know what will please those from whom he expects any advan- 
tage; whether they love flattery, or plainness; whether they 

are 



60 



SERMON III. 



are pleased with religion, or good humour; whether they are oft 
the court side of the question, or otherwise. Such knowledge 
will be of some service to direct the Doctors in attaining a full 
assurance of hope concerning the things of this life. 

4. Because, without the knowledge of the world, it will be 
impossible for Doctors to understand how to check and reprove 
vice. It has been observed by some, that those who have been 
thieves are the best thief-catchers; and, c ceteris paribus, it will 
follow, that such as have practised vice and folly know best how 
to detect and reprove immorality. You will easily perceive, 
that by the knowledge or the world I understand a practical 
acquaintance with those usages which are in fashion among the 
bons esprits, and those polite assemblies which are the general 
index to others. Without this branch of knowledge every man 
must appear very awkward in any station of life, and be looked 
upon by every person of taste as a queer out-of-the-way kind of 
mortal. Those who have been taught the knowledge of the 
world in this practical manner will bid fairest for worldly pre- 
ferment ; for, knowing how to address mankind in their own 
way, they have the best chance to please them, and of conse- 
quence to obtain their favour. Without the art of pleasing, a 
Doctor will be only " as sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal." 
This I take to be the reason why all our young students at the 
university endeavour to learn this branch of knowledge rather 
than the Scriptures; for no young man is either accounted learned 
or well bred, unless he first learn some of the good-humoured 
vices*, and can join with other candidates for preferment in 
their method of sinning. 

It will, I think, appear evident from the above observations, 
that the knowledge of the world is a very necessary qualification 
for a modern Doctor of Divinity. I think I may conclude this 
Sermon without any exhortation to the Doctors to observe the 
means to attain to these qualifications. They exceed in practice 
all the exhortations I can pretend to give them. 

* A phrase which was in repute in Scotland about twenty years since. 



SERMON 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



SERMON IV. 

Matthew, xxiii. 8. 

be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your master, even Christ, and 
all ye are brethren, 

OUR Saviour's lordship, and our subordination to him, are 
as little as possible any articles of men's creed in general : 
I mean their real creed, not what may be their profession; for 
the greatest part of men will confess Christ in words, and own, 
for their creed, some books wherein his dominion and authority 
are expressed. But a man's real creed is what he really believes 
and practiseth. Pride and indolence are two very opposite vices, 
and yet they mutually produce the same effects. Pride prevents 
men from being subject to Jesus Christ ; and indolence hinder^ 
them from obeying his laws. Pride hinders men from be- 
lieving the gospel, and indolence causeth them to elect trus- 
tees to take the business off their hand ; for there are many who 
are so full of their own consequence as to see no need of a 
Saviour, and some so thoughtless as to take other people's word 
for every thing concerning him, without being at any pains to 
examine evidence. 7'he one sort will not submit to a master, 
and the other does not care for any. Notwithstanding the many 
seemingly pious people there are in the world, who pretend to 
love their Saviour, and obey his laws, yet there is not one among 
ten thousand but must have his own way of doing it, otherwise 
they turn peevish and refractory, and will do nothing at all. 
The laws of Jesus Christ are both plain and easy, and for that 
reason are despised ; for men are always fond of doing some great 
thing, and reckon themselves much affronted if any little task is 
assigned them. They are like the king of Syria's chief captain, 
big with expectation of some striking phenomenon, and turn 
immediately peevish when they see only some indifferent thing 
do the business. Though it is manifest, ever since the beginning 
of the world, that things of the greatest consequence and impor- 
tance to mankind have been always produced by means of small 
and indifferent things; yet the vain imaginations of men have 
always conceived an impropriety in the divine administration. 
God first created the world by a word, and he destroyed it by a 
flood of water, which human wisdom has never been nble to 
account for; and for this reason, because it never could find 
enough of water for that purpose. Hence the philosophers have 
contrived many ingenious schemes to find how it might be pos- 
sible for the world to be drowned; and, far from being pleased 
with God's own account of the fact by Moses, they would not 

K believe 



69 



SERMON IV. 



believe it at all, till they had tried if they could contrive a 
scheme to do it. God also preserved the world from being 
totally extirpated by means of an ark. He brought Israel out 
of Egypt by the hand of Moses; and though he performed 
many mighty works in the way of bringing them out, and also 
all the time they were in the wilderness, yet men have not been 
pleased with them, because they wanted some one thing or other 
which they think they could have contrived. But, to come 
nearer to the point, the Almighty saved a lost world by the mi- 
nistry and death of his Son, and the preaching of his gospel. 
.Even these men have not been pleased with, but have denied 
the atonement of Christ, and despised the simplicity of the 
gospel ministry. When Christ sent forth his apostles, only qua- 
lified with spiritual gifts, without any of that trapping and 
pageantry which men are naturally fond of, they fulfilled the 
ends of their calling and mission, and were instruments of con- 
verting many out of all nations to the Christian religion. This 
iirst condition of the ministry has been long ago exploded by all 
Christians for the most part in all polite nations. The title of 
servant of Jesus Christ, and the humble character of minister 
of the gospel, have been accounted too low degrees of honour for 
the successors of the apostles. Our Saviour forbid his disciples 
to be called Rabbi, or to assume any titles but that of brethren : 
but after ages saw meet to shew, that our Saviour was but in 
jest, and did not mean as he spake; for those brethren and hum- 
ble servants of Jesus Christ have learned to assume more splendid 
titles than those which he hath commanded, and along with them 
power and prerogative which he never gave them. 

It may perhaps be alleged, that it is no way inconsistent for 
a man's brother to be also his master. I allow it: — but not in 
matters of religion. In such matters every man must answer 
for himself before God, and cannot have any master but him in 
things pertaining to conscience. There is something very absurd 
in supposing any spiritual power lodged in the hands of fallible 
creatures, who cannot regulate their own conduct with any cer- 
tainty, but are often themselves subject to caprice and other irre- 
gular passions. It does not appear, that those who assume this 
spiritual power and prerogative are more spiritual than other 
people. Their own children and domestics are frequently suf- 
ficient vouchers, that there is not more spirituality in their fami- 
lies, than there may be found in others around them. To see 
men pretending to spiritual authority over others, and yet at the 
same time perceive them to be slaves to their own lusts and 
appetites, is a great solecism in religion. A man, who is a 
tyrant in his own house, austere to his wife and children, and 
severe to his servants and dependents, cannot well be supposed 
a. very fit person to guide men's consciences, and rule in spiritual 
affairs. The best government in religious matters is good exam- 
ple. Whoever is not qualified to set a good example before 

others, 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



63 



others, is not fit to rule in any society, civil or religious. But 
the danger which ariseth from misconduct in temporals is but 
trifling, when compared with that which proceedeth from error 
in spirituals. No person would choose to lose his estate if he 
could help it; yet he may be happy without one. But should 
any person, by the exercise of arbitrary power or false institu- 
tions, wound another man's conscience, he makes him miserable 
in the strictest acceptation of the word. Spiritual lordship and 
power is much to be dreaded by all men who value their Chris- 
tian liberties. Our Saviour foresaw that there would be men 
who should, from a principle of pride and selfish ambition, be 
disposed to sport themselves with other people's immunities and 
privileges, and endeavour to establish their own private interest 
on the ruin of other men's happiness. For this cause he warns 
his disciples against every such attempt. 

How it has happened, I shall leave to divines and philosophers 
to account for; but it is a fact well confirmed by experience, 
that there never were any of fallen Adam's posterity willing to 
be subjects to any power whatsoever, till the gospel made them 
new creatures. From the meanest clown to the wisest philo- 
sopher, all men are seeking after pre-eminence in some shape or 
other; and the reason why there is such a thing as subordination 
in the kingdoms of this world is, that there is much hypocrisy 
in them. Politicians, who are only the Devil's understrappers, 
make good improvement of the wants and follies of mankind to 
bring them into subjection, and employ their utmost address 
to make others obey them from necessity. Freedom and liberty, 
words of a mighty sound, have really no signification but under 
gospel influence; for people who are influenced by flattery, 
bribery, or corruption of any kind, are not free. Those people 
are really as much forced, who are led by their passions and ap- 
petites, as those who are dragged with chains, and compelled by 
physical necessity. Politicians, who know what handle to take 
hold of men by, can lead them at their pleasure, and cause them 
to act contrary to all the principles of virtue and honesty. Yet 
those who are thus duped, and made good beasts of burden, have 
also supremacy in their view. The steward of some haughty 
landlord, who is flattered into slavery for the sake of his own 
interest, is often himself as real a tyrant as his master, over 
the circle of domestics which he is placed over; and all 
that he means by being a temporary slave is, that he may- 
have it in his power some time to be master At first, 
those who were most cunning, or most powerful, obtained the 
superiority and jurisdiction over the rest, by working upon their 
fears and hopes, till, by a series of continued stratagems, they 
established their dominion over as many as their cunning and 
power were capable of managing. From hence sprang up king- 
doms, princedoms, dukedoms, and earldoms, which lasted till 
tome others, taking the advantage of certain turns of Providence, 

brought 



64 



SERMON IV. 



brought about a revolution, and supplanted the first possessors, 
and assumed their prerogntive. Virtue and religion were made 
only pretences to blind the weak minds of the vulgar; and what 
was said from a principle of atheism was true in fact — f* Primos 
in orhe Deos fecit tirnor" Legislators and politicians, who or- 
dinarily made the greatest noise about religion, w«rre. generally 
most defective in the practice of moral duties; for, with ail the 
shew of piety which they expressed towards the gods, they were 
cruel and unmerciful to their fellow-men. Often \a here there 
was the greatest appearance of piety, there was the least hu- 
manity. As if religion had been calculated to eradicate every 
human feeling, those zealous devotees of godliness played the 
downright devil with their fellow-creatures. Virtue, like Astrea, 
took her flight to heaven, after the golden age of innocence 
ceased, and hath never set her foot in the kingdoms of this world 
since. What the apostle John has affirmed concerning the world 
is a melancholy fact : " The whole world lietk in wickedness " 
Righteousness, in the true acceptance of the word, is not of 
human culture or produce; it comes down from heaven. What- 
ever may have been the high-sounding encomiums on virtue and 
religion among the legislators and politicians of this earth, they 
have been no more than empty sound ; for, had virtue been as 
much their study as their own interest and preferment, there had 
been no such flourishing and extensive empires as are at present 
in the world. It has been often said, that it was the Roman 
virtue which raised that empire to that pitch of greatness which 
it at last came to; but if by virtue they mean pride, I shall be 
ready to agree with such as are of this opinion. The love of 
fame and glory were the highest motives ever any of the Ro- 
mans pretended to, which though they coveted with the greatest 
ardour, yet they never thought inordinate lusts inconsistent with 
the hope of that glory. Their many improvements in science 
and military glory were founded on the same principle which 
ruined the fallen angels and our first parents. By seeking to be- 
come "wise, they became fools ;" and by seeking to be great, 
they sunk beneath the weight of their own greatness*. 

It is surprising how ever men could ascribe the name of virtue 
to murder and bloodshed; or how they could imagine, that there 
were any moral excellencies in vanity and self-righteousness! 
But it is still more surprising how both divines and philosophers 
could have the assurance to give the apostle the lie. John in- 
forms us, that " all that is in the world is the lust of the eye, and 
the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life" These are the moral 
principles which he found in the world in his time; and there is 
not much evidence to convince any person that it is grown better 
through age. Human pride has coined many virtues, which 

* Res est praeterea, et immensi operis, ut quae supra septingentesimum 
annum repetatur, et quae ab «xi^uis profecta initiis, eo creverit ut magnitudine 
laboret sua. Liv. lib. i. 

never 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



65 



never could have had any existence without it. But they are only 
political, not moral ones. They have no more relation to the 
moral system, than taper leys and hroad shoulders have. The 
word virtue is a term of very uncertain signification in modern 
times. An East-India merchant accounts it virtue to kill a 
nabob, and take possesion of his dominions, which an Englishman 
has no more right to, than he has to Grand Cairo, or the empire 
of China: and every soldier, who fights bravely for the profits of 
the company, is called a brave and virtuous man ; and an officer, 
who has address enough to animate his men to kill and plunder a 
number of innocent Indians, is extolled to the skies for a noble 
and virtuous hero. To such a height has the notion of Roman 
virtues come in these latter days, that those who have the io igest 
swords are by their own party accounted the best men There 
is perhaps as much virtue in the world at present, as ever there 
was since Adam fell; that is to say, there is none at all. And, 
indeed, if virtue produceth such horrid effects as we sometimes 
hear of in some remote parts of the world, we are really at no loss 
for the want of it. 

It is not virtue, but vice and folly, which make a kingdom 
flourishing; and it is something strange, that several zealous 
people should always be praying for a reformation of manners, 
and more strict virtue. This is the only thing which would ruin 
a flourishing nation; for if all ranks of people were strictly 
virtuous, and were disposed to live content with those enjoy- 
ments which are merely necessary to make men happy, there 
would be no occasion for any commerce with foreign kingdoms 
to bring home superfluities, or for exchanging one trifle 
for another. But then what would become of mercers, china- 
merchants, and excisemen, and many other brandies of business, 
which are merely supported by the folly and extravagance of 
mankind ? Pride is the only thing which makes a nation polite 
and flourishing. 

The fine moralist, and the narrow-minded systematic, may 
perhaps stare a little at what has been just now said. But are 
they able to disallow the fact? I am afraid it is but too well 
attested in constant experience to be got denied. Polite nations, 
and fine trading populous cities, are not the effects of virtue, but 
of pride and luxury; and notwithstanding the satisfaction 
which Monsieur Voltaire takes in admiring such cities as London 
and Paris, yet it is abundantly manifest, that, considering them 
in a moral light, they are the very nurseries of sin and lewdness. 
The providence of God has so ordered matters, that men, for 
their own safety and preservation, have formed themselves into 
societies. But whatever were the designs of Providence, the 
designs of men are quite different in their springs and motives. 
God, by this order of society, meaui to keep up good govern- 
ment and rule in the world; but politicians, who first formed 
men into societies, meant to advance their own power by making 

an 



66 



SERMON IV. 



an handle of human necessities. If all men were truly virtuous, 
there would be no need of politicians, nor of any dominion but 
that of our Maker ; for there is no principle in nature which says, 
that one man should be greater than another. It is their folly 
which brings them into subjection, and they are put under the 
dominion of one another, because they have rejected the govern- 
ment of their Maker. We read in Scripture of a period which 
is to come, when " all dominion shall be put down, and God shall 
be all in all" But this is to take place among beings perfectly 
righteous. As long as men are sinners, there is a necessity for 
laws and rulers, either to prevent their vices, or to make the best 
of them for the advantage of society; and no persons will be 
enemies to laws but such as are themselves transgressors. Though 
good men do not need human laws on their own account, yet 
they love them, because they are appointed by Providence for 
the good of human society. Wicked men may appoint good 
rules, and contrive good laws, as to the letter of them; but it 
will be manifest from their administration, that they either do 
not understand, or do not love the spirit of them. This shews 
the truth of what I observed already, that all worldly policy, 
wealtit, and commerce, have their foundation in pride and hy- 
pocrisy ; for though God makes all things work for his own glory 
and the good of bis church, yet, as far as legislators and poli- 
ticians are concerned in the administration, pride and hypocrisy 
are at the bottom of the whole. It is true, that fear would 
naturally cause men to enter into society; but it is pride and 
hypocrisy which make it flourish. Hence I think it is abun- 
dantly plain, that all flourishing nations and kingdoms are more 
obliged to their vices than their virtues, for what makes them 
wealthy, splendid, and polite. 

It is natural to think, as men are formed with a taste for reli- 
gion, that law-givers would endeavour to indulge their pro- 
pensity, and strive to make it serve their own ends of policy ; 
so ail histories, which have come down to our times, shew, that 
every polite nation endeavoured to have its established religion. 
The first bent of the human mind, under the influence of igno- 
rance and fear, is directed toward superstition; and, till men be 
instructed in the character and will of God from his own word, 
they will be easily seduced by designing politicians into any 
system which is most agreeable to their natural apprehensions. 
Whoever hath address enough to work upon their superstition, 
may easily become their dictators; and when once they have 
obtained the government of their conscience, it is not very 
difficult to make them slaves. Men have been influenced by the 
same principle in setting up priests, as in appointing civil go- 
vernors. The fear of wiid beasts, or of one another, made them 
appoint those they thought wisest or strongest to be their head, 
to direct them in the way of safety and self-defence; and their 
fear of invisible powers caused them to choose those who could 

give 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 67 



give the most plausible reasons how they might be saved from an 
unseen influence, which they neither could foresee nor prevent. 
The consciences of men do naturally suggest to them, when any- 
striking phenomenon is represented to their senses, an invisible 
power; and a secret consciousness of guilt as naturally produceth 
fear, if the phenomenon be of the awful kind. Death, which 
is the common fate of mankind, would have no more effect upon 
man than it hath on other animals, if there was not naturally in 
him a power, which suggests something more in death than a 
mere dissolution of the body. Neither doth it appear, that ap- 
prehensions of invisible powers proceed from institution and 
tutorage altogether; it rather seems evident, that those apprehen- 
sions take their rise from a feeling of instinct which is congenial 
with our nature. Those fears and apprehensions, which proceed 
from our natural antipathy to pain, are much increased by certain 
information of danger, which will naturally dispose men to use 
means, and contrive methods, to prevent what they are much 
afraid of. Gladly will a man listen to any person who shall be 
so kind as to point out a method whereby he may escape the 
danger which he fears, especially if he knows no other. Poli- 
ticians, catching hold of men by this handle, have often turned 
their fears to their own account, and, by painting to their con- 
sciences the most dreadful picture of invisible power, have made 
themselves necessary to the vulgar, by pretending they knew 
the secret of delivering them from the danger which they were 
afraid of. Hence the notion of the need of mediators between 
the Deity and his creatures arose; of which, though no man, 
setting aside revelation, knew any thing certainly, yet their sense 
of guilt suggested the necessity thereof. 

In the early ages of society it was common for lawgivers and 
politicians to assume the character of High Priests, whereby they 
might the better carry on the ends of their policy, by taking hold 
of the handle of superstition. The very chief of the Roman 
emperors assumed the direction of religion, and the management 
of sacred things; but when the urgency of business called them 
abroad to the remote parts of the empire, they were obliged to 
commit the charge of religion to persons who were disposed to 
live at home, and carry on the ends of superstition. But as 
these persons were not inclined to work for nothing, and did not 
choose religion for its own sake, but for the profits which at- 
tended it, legislators were obliged to admit them to a share of 
the emoluments, and also let them into the schemes of their 
policy; till at last superstition was established as really as the 
civil policy of empires. When Christianity came to be the reli- 
gion of princes, and was embraced by the powers of this world, 
it supplied the place of idolatry and polytheism ; but was im- 
proved by legislators*to the same ends and purposes that idolatry 
and Heathen superstition had been before. And though God, 
by an express revelation exhibited by the ministry of Christ and 



68 



SERMON IV. 



his apostles, had conveyed the stated economy of his church to 
men, and established every ordinance and office therein to be 
unalterable, til! Christ's second coming; yet this was found alto- 
gether incompetent to serve the purposes of the kingdoms of* this 
world. Self-denial, and taking up the cross, were of themselves 
not only unfit for, but altogether contrary to the maxims of 
human lawgivers and politicians; and it was as impossible for 
any kingdom or empire to become flourishing by observing the 
rules of Christianity, as it was for Jesus Christ 10 be a temporal 
prince, by humbling himself unto the death. For this reason 
the pride of men found it necessary to corrupt the Christian reli- 
gion, to make it tally with their worldly interest; and though 
their consciences would not permit them to throw it off altoge- 
ther, nor did they find it consistent with their interest to do so, 
yet they were at no little pains to corrupt it, on purpose to 
make it answer the ends of policy. 

Hence it was that religious societies, which were in after- 
times called churches, were formed according to the plan of the 
civil government which w T as most agreeable to the genius of 
those countries where Christianity happened to be professed. 
Hierarchy has for the most part been found agreeable to the taste 
of politicians, because thereby the spirit of free inquiry is most 
easily suppressed, and the vulgar kept in ignorance; for always 
where the clergy have most power, there the people are most 
ignorant, and easiest persuaded to become beasts of burden. 
It is also most suitable to human pride; for who does not love 
to be at the head of affairs? True piety is only to be found in 
a society whose minds are subject to the gospel. But such as 
are under the power of their own vain affections, will ever be 
disposed to assume jurisdiction. The reason why those who 
are not exalted to power themselves endure it in the hands 
of others is, because they are looking after it, and wait for it in 
their turn. They are therefore obliged to approve the institu- 
tion which their hearts are set upon, though it may perhaps be 
found they are no ways in love with those men who step in 
before them. There are many prebendaries and rectors in Eng- 
land who love bishoprics, that are not any way fond of bishops. 
It will from this appear, that hypocrisy is as necessary to a 
flourishing national church as it is to a flourishing nation. Pride 
is the foundation, and hypocrisy the chief pillar, of all esta- 
blishments of religion in this world. 

It may very readily be supposed, that our Saviour's intention 
in warning his disciples against assuming titles of pre-eminence", 
or usurping power over one another, had a respect to what he 
knew would happen among some who should pretend to be his 
disciples in some future period. He knew it was natural to 
vain man to seek preferment, instead of abasing himself as a sin- 
ful creature, and therefore advises his disciples to beware of every 
appearance of pride and self-righteousness, which were essen- 
tially 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



tially opposite to that character which they as his brethren and 
disciples were called to bear. This naturally leads me to con- 
sider the difference between the true disciples of Jesus Christ, 
and every phansaical pretender to that character. 

Those who are Christ's true disciples acknowledge no other 
roaster but him in things pertaining to the conscience; his au- 
thority alone obligeth them, and they are subject to him in all 
things All his words have the force of laws with them. They 
will not hear the voice of another. Hence our Saviour himself 
declares, that his sheep hear his voice, and follow him ; but ano- 
ther they will not follow. Christians who believe the gospel of 
Christ have an universal regard to all things which he hatn com- 
manded them : " Ye are my disciples, if ye do whatsoever I hava 
commanded you." His commandment concerning self-denial, 
and taking up the cross, is as cheerfully obeyed by his true dis- 
ciples as any duty he hath commanded; nor are they ashamed 
of the cross of Christ — it is their glory: " God forbid, 11 says the 
apostle, " J should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, whereby the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the 
world. 11 His law of love is written in their hearts, and shines 
brightly in their conversation. They love all men, but espe- 
cially those who bear the image of their heavenly Father; and 
their love is not an inactive principle, but a constant labour and 
exercise. They are ready to comfort and relieve all their bre- 
thren in distress, according to their power, and to heap favours 
upon their worst enemies, if they stand in need of them. They 
endeavour to visit the widow and the fatherless in their affliction, 
and strive to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. They are 
abundantly fruitful in good works, yet they do not suffer their 
left hand to know what their right hand doth; nor do they 
sound a trumpet when they give their alms. They do not 
make a merit of their good deeds, but glory in that grace which 
enables them to perform them; nor will they give those pain, 
whom they are able to assist, by putting them to the hard neces- 
sity of asking their charitable aid, but seek to prevent them 
with their favours, as Christ did them with his mercy* The 
deep sense which they have of God's preventing mercy, which 
saved them when they were ready to perish, makes them run 
to the relief of the destitute so soon as they perceive their neces- 
sity: the blessing of him who is ready to perish comes upon, 
them. When the world are pursuing with the greatest assiduity 
the pleasures of sense, they live by the faith of the Son of God, 
and pursue the hope of their calling. 

But those who are only Christians by profession are subject 
to many masters, but reject Christ. His authority in the Scrip- 
tures they do not regard, nor do they pay just respect to his 
laws; because it requires diligence to be wise for themselves, 
they submit to those who will take the trouble to direct them. 
Like the Jews, they become disciples of men, and do not submit 

L to 



70 



SERMON IV. 



to the authority of Christ; yet they are self-sufficient, vain, and 
haughty, indulging false notions of their own merit, and foolish 
hopes without any rational foundation. False Christians are of 
two sorts: those who are leaders, who think any thing becomes 
them that ever they have a mind to, who assume pre-eminence 
and authority only due to Him who made them; and those who 
are led, and believe what they say, without further inquiry. 

To illustrate this point, so as the meanest reader may under- 
stand it, let us consider the similitude between the ancient Pha- 
risees and their modern brethren. 

The Pharisees made the word of God vain by their traditions. 
The doctrines of Moses and the prophets, concerning mercy, 
judgment, and faith, were rendered of no effect, through the 
multitude of human dogmas which they substituted in the place 
thereof. They also pretended to a power to impose their own 
conceits on the people. This our Saviour calls heavy burdens, 
■which they laid on men's shoulders, but would not touch them 
with one of their fingers. The traditions of the elders were al! 
the foundation they had for their practice, and they were more 
zealous in defending these and practising them, than they were 
in observing the spirit and intention of the law of Moses. The 
law of Moses knew nothing of this sect of the Pharisees; it was 
but of modern contrivance, and was a downright corruption of 
the Jewish ancient religion. It was a mere policy, to serve the 
purposes of selfish men, who meant no more by their shew of 
godliness than to serve their own interest. 

Their modern brethren, the Doctors of Divinity, pursue the 
same plan; they make the word of God vain by their own tra- 
ditions. A simple reader of the New Testament, who has no 
other intention in reading it but to learn the meaning of the 
Holy Spirit, must be much surprised not to find in any of the 
gospels or epistles the least hint concerning church power in the 
manner it is now practised in our established churches, when he 
hears the claims of the Rabbis to jurisdiction over the rest of 
their brethren; but must still be more surprised when he knows 
that they allow tradition a negative over the express dictates of 
the Holy Ghost. Must not such a reader be ready to ask, for 
what end have we the Scriptures? Were they intended to be 
the sport of clergymen, and a political machine to raise them to 
preferment? When Jesus Christ affirms, that there shall be no 
lordship among his disciples, nor shall they be called Rabbis, 
■what must any plain well-meaning person think, but that either 
our Saviour's words are of no weight, or that church-men do 
not believe them? 

Do not Doctors make the word of God vain by their tradi- 
tions, when they establish canons and confessions of faith, and 
impose them upon the laity, which have no manner of founda- 
tion in the Holy Scriptures? They cannot have any foundation 
in the Scriptures as grounds of faith, or rules of duty, unless 

they 



tO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



71 



they be the Scriptures themselves; for Christians have no other 
rules of Christian duty or grounds of faith, but what are con- 
tained in God's word. But some of the articles of the established 
political religion are contrary to the Scripture, as much as the 
Jewish traditions were, yet they are imposed on severe enougli 
penalties. 

The Westminster Confession, which has long been the glory 
of many orthodox brethren, affirms, that it belongs to the 
synods and councils ministerially to determine controversies of 
faith, and cases of conscience; and the Twenty Articles of the 
Church of England is of much the same import. Who is lord 
of the conscience here? Not Jesus Christ, but the Doctors of 
the church. There is not a greater falsehood among all the 
Roman legends than this article of the Confession of Faith. A 
layman, who has no preferment to expect by subscribing a Con- 
fession, will very likely have very different cases of conscience 
from a church dignitary, who is, by that piece of deceit, ad-, 
vanced to some hundreds or thousands of yearly income. The 
Pharisees imposed their traditions upon all their disciples by 
virtue of a right which they pretended they had to do so: but 
our Saviour told them they made void the law by their tradi- 
tions, and that they were blind guides, who led men into the 
ditch. The greatest part of their religion consisted in vain and 
idle ceremonies; but here they had much better pretence for 
their conduct than our modern Rabbis. A great part of their 
ceremonies were of divine institution, and had not as yet 
been totally disallowed: and there was some outward simi- 
litude in several of their abuses to some lawful usages of divine 
appointment; such as the washing of cups and platters, and of 
their hands before meat. But our Christian Rabbis practise usages 
which were never appointed either under the law or the gospel, 
and initiate their disciples in these absurdities. It never was a 
practice allowed by God, under either the Old or New Testa- 
ments, to worship with men's faces toward the east, nor to make 
use of the sign of the cross in baptism ; yet the Rabbis practise 
these ceremonies, and make the ignorant people believe that 
there is some sanctity in such fopperies. If this be not teach- 
ing for doctrines the commandments of men, it is hard to say 
what is so. 

The Pharisees did their works to be seen of men, and enlarged 
the borders of their garments. In this our modern Pharisees 
agree with them : they make a shew of religion in will-worship, 
and walk in long robes like ancient Jewish Doctors ; and what 
they want in inward sincerity, they make up with outward pa- 
geantry. Who would think, that saw our reverend gentlemen in 
black, with all their canon- cals on, but they were the patrons 
and examples of piety ? To behold them in the streets, in the 
desk, or in the pulpit, they look something like reverend : but 
what our Saviour said of the Pharisees may be justly said of 

them ; 



72 



SERMON IV. 



them : they appeared to men to fast, so they appear to men to 
be religious; but what would some people think, if there were 
as little religion in their houses, as in any other families of the 
parish? If, instead of family-worship, they should find the 
gaming-table, and some other polite diversions, instead of Chris- 
tian devotion, in their houses? I could give a pretty long list of 
good repuiable Doctors of this character. But perhaps they will 
make use of the old reply, " Do what they command, but not as 
ihey do." There may often be much danger in this ; for they 
command, at least preach, what would be very unsafe to believe. 
Instead of the record which God hath given concerning his Son, 
and tiiat work which be finished on the cross, which the 
Apostles preached as the reason of Christian hope, they for the 
most part preach up self-righteousness, and the excellencies of 
human nature, with a long train of virtues, of which we have 
few examples in common life, even among the Doctors them- 
selves. The Apostles published glad tidings to the worthless, 
and shewed that there was no difference between one man and 
another in the matter of our acceptance with God : but the 
Doctors, like the Pharisees, teach us, that God is only gracious 
to the worthy and virtuous part of mankind ; and that those who 
know not their law are accursed. Any person, who pleaseth to 
lead some of the modern printed sermons, will find the truth of 
what I have just now asserted. 

The Pharisees had also certain courts of conscience, where 
they bound and loosed men as they thought meet, where they 
excommunicated such as were not obedient to the traditions of 
the elders, and did not follow implicitly their spiritual directors. 
At one of these courts Jesus Christ himself had the honour to 
be tried, and found guilty. These ornaments of established 
churches are still in being. Spiritual courts are no wise scarce in 
Christendom; there are a goodly number in Britain, which 
sundry people have reason to know, who never were found 
guilty of any breach of the moral law. The original plan of 
them is entirely taken from that pharisaical club at Jerusalem, 
which condemned our Saviour. But what is something sur- 
prising, some people call them courts of Christ. But, as far as I 
have read the New Testament, I never found that Christ insti- 
tuted any courts. The country people seem to give them the 
properest name, when they call them clergy-courts; for they are 
good for no other purpose, but to oppress the people, and enrich, 
the clergy. How they happen to be courts of conscience is not 
easily conceived ; for if one may judge from their decisions and 
sentences, conscience seem to have little concern in them. It is 
certainly not very conscientious to excommunicate people for 
refusing to pay church-dues, when they cannot in conscience go 
to church, and never ask any privileges from her; when they caa 
pass by whoremongers and fornicators for a little money, without 
any signs of repentance whatsoever. This is law like that at 

Jerusalem 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 73 



Jerusalem long ago, which released a murderer, and condemned 
the Prince of life. The least thing that could be expected from 
our Doctors, who preside in these courts, is, that they would 
shew us some paragraph of the New Testament, authorizing 
this jurisdiction which they pretend to; I am confident they can 
produce none other precedent from the Scripture, but that at 
Jerusalem, where our Lord was condemned. All the ground 
they have to go upon is the canon law, and the arbitria sanctorum 
patrum, which have no more relation to, nor connection with 
Scripture, than the Turkish Alcoran hath. The Jewish Doctors 
and our modern Christian clergy are as like one another as two 
eggs are to each other. The Jewish Rabbis had no other foun- 
dation for their practices but their canons and the arbitria 
sanctorum patrum : the law of Moses made no part of their re- 
ligious system, for they rendered it of no effect by their tradi- 
tions ; for though they did not publicly renounce the name of 
Moses, they did not observe any of his laws according to their 
spirit and intention. How like to them are our Doctors and 
right reverend clergy ? who, through their traditions, canons, 
creeds, and confessions, render the New Testament of our Lord and 
Saviour of no effect; and though they do not renounce the name 
of Jesus Christ, do not observe any of his laws according to the 
spirit and design thereof. Concerning the nature and authority 
©f spiritual courts, I intend to say something in another dis- 
course. 

To sum up the differences between true disciples of Christ, 
and every pharisaical pretender — The one observe the word of 
God in all things pertaining to religion, — in faith, worship, love 
to Christ and all men. They believe nothing in religion which 
is not manifestly pointed out in the Scripture, and reject every 
imposition which designing men would wreath about their neck, 
to keep them in subjection to them. But the modern seed of 
the Pharisees pay little regard to the Scriptures. The traditions 
©f the church, and the opinions of the Doctors, go a greater 
length with them than the words of Jesus Christ, and his 
apostles. And yet a great many of the common people know 
nothing about the matter; they take all upon trust, and are the 
best materials for the Doctors to work upon that ihey could 
desire. As for the Scriptures, many of them cannot read them ; 
and those who can, lay no weight upon them. The Articles 
©f the Church, the Practice of Piety, the Companion to the 
Altar, and the Weekly Preparations of private men, serve the 
place of the word of God. And among Dissenters, though they 
in general know the Scriptures somewhat better than those who 
go to church, yet the Bible has but little authority among the 
bulk of them. Doctors Doddrige, vVatts, Boston, Ens- 
kine, and a long train of popular clergymen, have more weight 
among the pious people of the Dissenters, than the New Testa- 
ment. Any persons may make pretty free with the Scriptures 

when 



74 



SERMON IV. 



when they please, without much scandal, provided they do not 
throw out any reflections to the prejudice of the characters of 
those who are accounted the only true interpreters thereof* 
But it is not sate to say any of them were wrong; any person 
who shall make the experiment may expect to hear his praise 
sounded in a manner no way agreeable to his ears, nor pleasing 
to his mind. Heresy, and some other genteel epithets, shall soon 
be ascribed to him ; and he may think himself very gently used, if 
nothing worse follow. All Pharisees, from the first commence- 
ment of that sect, have been liberal in their censure and abuse 
of those who could not in their consciences say Amen to all 
their nostrums. When once the chief priests of the party, and 
the Doctors of the church, see fit to anathematize any one for 
heresy (which generally means no more than differing from them 
in some human speculation), their followers, like so many blood- 
hounds, fix on his character, and hunt him down, like some wild 
beast with whom no fair dealing is to be observed. 

To conclude this discourse, I shall only observe, when men 
assume characters, titles, and offices, which are no where to be 
found in the New Testament, but, on the contrary, prohibited by 
Jesus Christ, they must belong to another kingdom than that of 
his, which is altogether directed by his will, and ruled by his 
laws. His order to his apostles is expressed in this manner — " Go 
ye therefore, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
commanded you; and, lo, I am with you" 



HIS is a strong proof for uniformity in religion. I marvel 



A much that it has never been brought against the author of 
the Confessional. Here is one head, and one brotherhood, but 
no Dissenters mentioned ; and if any may be allowed to use the 
apostle's words, " There is one faith." Here is perfect unifor- 
mity. I forgot, however, to observe, that there are no livings 
taken notice of. Very likely our Saviour did not mean there 
should he any civil establishment of religion, or at least did not 
choose to mention it, because he knew men would consider these 
matters of themselves, without any directions from him. But 
there were to be no Rabbis in this church. Perhaps there were 
no Christian universities then, nor chancellors, or heads of 
houses, to confer degrees, — and I might add, to expel such as had 

been 



SERMON V. 



Matthew, xxiii. 
One is your master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 




TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 75 



been bred to mean employments, otherwise our Saviour and his 
disciples had undoubtedly been expelled; for in all likelihood 
they were, most of them, brought up to some mean employ- 
ments. 

These words would naturally seem to suggest, that this little 
church had but one head, namely, the Messiah, who was the 
lawgiver, the teacher, and the guide thereof. This woulrl also 
seem to hint to us, that Jesus Christ was head of the whole 
church; for this whole church is said to have but one master; 
even Christ. It is also natural to conceive, that as this ciiurch 
grew and increased, she still retained the same head and the 
same unity, and acknowledged all for her brethren who obeyed 
the same master; and that there was not to be in this society, 
over which Christ was head and lord, any such prerogative 
assumed by any members thereof as the Scribes and Pharisees 
assumed over their disciples. So much seems to be implied in 
these words, " Be not ye called Rabbi.' 1 The lordship of Jesus 
Christ seems to be contrasted with every pretension to power 
and pre-eminence among Christians; and the words seem to 
signify as much as that every person who should assume juris- 
diction over his brethren did renounce the headship of Christ — 
" Be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your master, even Christ.' 1 

The word which is here rendered master signifies a leader, or 
one who goes foremost ; a character proper for him who is styled 
by the prophet " a leader and commander of the people 11 and 
who in all things deserves the pre-eminence. Every the least 
claim to supremacy and power over others is destructive of 
church purity, and opposite to our Saviour's jurisdiction; for in 
his cburch every member is a brother. Our Saviour's disciples 
were a true representation of every gospel-church, where all the 
members are equal, and governed by one head, even Christ. 
For though some brethren may have a larger measure of gifts 
than others, it does not follow that their jurisdiction is any 
greater; the jurisdiction lies in the head, and is by him applied 
to all the members for their good, as need requires. They take 
all care of one another, being like a building fitly framed to- 
gether, growing into an holy temple in the Lord ; in whom they 
also are budded together for an habitation of God through the 
Spirit. As brethren, they are all mutually concerned for one 
another, through the one spirit the Lord, who rules in and over 
them all by his powerful word. 

Those who are leaders in the Christian church do not lead 
the brethren by coercive power, or spiritual jurisdiction ; but by 
following Christ in meekness and humility, and by shewing the 
people that they are followers of Jesus, they persuade them to 
follow them. This was the Apostle's method: *' Be ye follower? 
of me, as I also am of Christ Jesus 11 To exercise any coer- 
cive power would not be leading, but driving people. Jesus 
Christ himself makes use of no power but persuasion over his 

church 



SERMON V. 



church in matters of faith. The strongest law in his kingdom 
is evidence; nor can we find in all the New Testament that ever 
he sought to deprive any persons of any worldly emolument for 
their not believing- on him. That sort of power which is coer- 
cive belongs to the kingdoms of this world, and can have no 
place in the kingdom of Christ. 

In explaining the nature of this society, of which Christ is the 
head ; I shall, for the edification of the Doctors, 1. Inquire 
what is its confession of faith. 2. What kind of officers are in 
it. 3. What sort of jurisdiction belongs to it* 4. In whose 
hanc!s it is lodged. Then make some practical improvement. 

Without any further introduction I shall affirm, that this soci- 
ety hath the Scriptures for its confession of faith, and nothing 
else. The whole record which God hath given concerning his 
Son as the true Messiah and Saviour of the world, is the only 
confession of the Christian church. The Scriptures of the Old 
and New Testament are profitable for all things, " to make the 
man of God perfect." They are " profitable for doctrine, for 
reproof , for correction, and instruction in righteousness." What 
more can be necessary ? All other confessions or creeds are 
unprofitable; for they must be proved agreeable to the word of 
God, before any Christian can believe therein; which plainly 
intimates as much as that the Scriptures might serve the purpose 
without them. " But then it would be more labour and toil to 
the people to collect their faith out of the Scriptures ; and they 
might be ready to commit mistakes in the collection. The 
Doctors have therefore been at pains to compose sufficient for- 
mularies to their hand, to save trouble, danger of mistake, and 
waste of time." This is no doubt very obliging in t heir Reve- 
rences, to take so much trouble for the welfare of mankind. 
But I suppose they were always sufficiently paid for their trouble, 
and beside had the satisfaction of gratifying their pride, in consi- 
dering themselves worthy of so much trust and confidence. But 
where is the advantage of all this to the common people? or 
where is the necessity for the Doctors taking all this labour on 
themselves? It is very observable, that such as are bound ap- 
prentices to any business learn their employment best by put- 
ting hand to their work; and should any officious friend, from 
a pretence of kindness, perform their business for them, there is 
reason to believe they would never learn their trade for want of 
employment therein. The reader will perhaps perceive the simi- 
litude between the two cases. A Christian will reap more ad- 
vantage by searching the Scriptures himself, and exercising his 
own judgment thereon, than if a number of idle people should 
gave him from this trouble by doing his business for him. 
Those who are satisfied with what other people do for them in 
religious matters are like some idle school-boys, who hire 
others to write their exercise for them ; which though it may 
by chance be exact enough, yet they are nothing the wiser; and 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



77 



in case there should be some blunders in it, are obliged to be 
chastised for the errors of others. 

It is something strange, considering the imperfection of the 
human understanding, and the gradual increase of knowledge, 
that any number of men not inspired should be supposed so 
wise, as to be able to compose a formulary of faith sufficient to 
serve to the latest posterity. This is still more surprising, when 
it is considered that these very persons, who pretend to be the 
strictest votaries of these credenda when it is any way for their 
interest, advance some things not quite consistent therewith. I 
remember reading of a controversy, which happened in the year 
1720, among the Doctors of a certain establishment, concerning 
faith. The Westminster Confession of Faith, which all the 
Doctors had subscribed, affirms, that assurance is not of the 
essence of faith; but several of those good gentlemen, who pre- 
tended to be very zealous for that formulary, affirmed that it 
was; and endeavoured to press the Westminster divines over to 
their side, in spite of their express declaration to the contrary. 
I mention this, to shew how little dependence there is to be laid 
on any human articles, when men have any end to serve by 
wresting their meaning. There is no creed proof against wrest- 
ing more than Paul's epistles. 

In all things pertaining to this life people are fond of deal- 
ing at first hand, as supposing it the best and the most profitable 
method; and it is amazing how they should conceive that reli- 
gion is better at second hand than other things of less importance. 
It is not surprising that the clergy of the church should give 
way to this practice; for it is the great secret of their business, 
and all the profits of the commodity come first through their 
hands: and though they themselves are laid under the hardship 
of receiving some old stale goods, which have lien in the com- 
pany's hand since the Reformation, which may be some grie- 
vance to them ; yet, as they have all the advantage of retailing 
them, and the profits which arise therefrom, their case is not 
so very hard. But how the laity, who make nothing by them, 
should be, as many of them are, so zealous in procuring them, 
is not so easily accounted for. The meanest day-labourer, in- 
stead of buying from common hucksters and pedlars, will, if he 
can, go to town, and purchase at first hand, as supposing there 
he can buy cheapest, and be best served; but will, with all ima- 
ginable satisfaction, receive his creed at either second or third 
hand. One would think this very absurd; and yet it is very true 
in fact. 

It is a sad reflection on the first churches, that they were so 
easily satisfied with regard to their creed, when they were pleased 
with the Scriptures only, when so much more was necessary; 
for, till the favour of princes and temporal emoluments were 
connected with religion, we read of neither creeds nor confes- 
sions, except the Bible. 

M In 



78 



SERMON V. 



In the Harmony of Confessions, where there- are sixteen of 
them collected together, besides ihe falsehoods which are in 
many of them, there is this manifest defect, that eleven of them 
forget to mention the resurrection of the dead. Yet these have 
been imposed on ministers for security of their preaching sound 
doctrine; whereas it is manifest, according to these Confessions, 
they mioht with a good conscience either neglect to teach, or 
deny, the resurrection of the dead. I would not willingly sup- 
pose, that all those confessionalists were Sadducees ; yet some 
have been charged with heresy for as little reason. There is no 
such article among all the thirty-nine of the Church of England, 
unless it be implied in the eighth, where mention is made of 
the creeds, as that the dead shall be raised. The Doctors have 
made an atonement for this defect, by their true care and zeal 
for rites and ceremonies, and the power of the church to alter 
and mend, as she in her wisdom shall see meet. But these 
important things have, it seems, been deemed more necessary 
to be explicit on, than the resurrection of the dead. The 
composers of the Articles have paid but a poor compliment to 
Jesus Christ and his apostles, when they engaged in this eccle- 
siastical patch-work : for it supposes, in the first instance, that 
Christ was either not willing, or not wise enough, to give his 
church a complete model and form of Christian worship, and 
for this cause hath left it to the good pleasure of church-guides 
to cut and carve as they shall think proper. This is pure and 
undefined Popery. I must not forget to observe, that there is 
some advantage in this method of altering religious forms of wor- 
ship. The vanity of mankind is not a little pleased and gratified 
even by the change of dress and clothes: and there is a sort of 
temporary happiness in the alteration of fashions; and why 
may not this hold in the change of religious forms of worship, 
as well as in change of raiment? There arc not a few very 
good churchmen, whose religion sits as easy on them as their 
apparel; and they can change the one witli as much pleasure 
as they can do the other, when the Lord turns it for their inte- 
rest. But there is this one difficulty which attends ceremony- 
mongering ; it lays some narrow-minded church-men under the 
necessity of altering their forms, when they have no fault to 
them, if the church shall see meet to change them. By the 
subscribing of this article concerning ceremonies, every church- 
man engages to change whenever the church thinks proper, whe- 
ther it be right or wrong, provided she say that the alteration 
is not contrary to the word of God. Here the Doctors can 
never be in the wrong, whatever may happen: for the morality 
of modes of worship dependeth on the opinion of the church 
and the humour of nations; and whenever they have a mind 
to change their humour, or to alter their opinion, what was for- 
merly moral becomes quite the reverse. Bishop Burnet has 
attempted to clear this point, as he has endeavoured to do seve- 
ral 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 79 

Tal others; for, good man! he loved articles, as far as they 
were conducive to worldly interest, as well as any other true 
church-man. But, if the reader pleaset'n, we shall set down 
the article : " It is not necessary, that traditions and ce«emonies 
be in all places-alike or the same; for at all times they have 
been different, and may be changed according to the diversity of 
countries and men's manners, so that nothing be ordained 
against the word of God." 

There's for ye, reader! Different countries may, and men of 
different manners may, worship 4beir Maker each according to 
their humours; and yet there is a possibility of each of them 
acting according to the word of God. Why may not their own 
humours serve instead of articles, seeing they are so likely to be 
consistent with the word of God ? But would not common 
sense say, if one country which had its manners regulated by the 
word of God was in the right, another country differing totally 
therefrom must be in the wrong? How can both be different 
in their manners concerning religion, and yet be consistent 
with the Scripture? Religion is by this article made a wonder- 
ful tractable thing, quite willing and ready to bend and bow to 
serve the interests of these good men the Doctors. The manner 
of worshipping God, it seems, must be very uncertain; or it 
would rather appear, that he does not care after what manner 
he be worshipped, provided the clergy of every nation can 
agree about it, or find themselves in the humour to worship 
him at all. 

The Doctors were certainly dreaming when they composed 
this article; for one may venture to pronounce, that the most 
illiterate assembly of common people that could be brought to- 
gether would not have formed a more inconsistent and stupid 
article. Bishop Burnet has endeavoured to press our Saviour 
into this business of article-making; for he allegeth it is im- 
plied in his words, John, xvii. 12, 20, 21, 22. Bishops must 
certainly think themselves privileged to pervert the Scripture as 
they have a mind ; for when they have their own ends to serve, 
they make sad stretches in their criticisms. Who would have 
thought that any person could have found a single passage in the 
whole 17th chapter of John any way favourable to creed-making, 
or uniformity in national ceremonies? Our Saviour, not long 
after this, tells us, that his " kingdom is not of this world. 11 How 
then can his words in this chapter be applied to a kingdom 
which is professedly of it? — a mere creature of the civil powers. 
The unity which our Saviour prays for, and recommends to his 
disciples, is unity in believing his words; an unity of temper of 
mind like that of his, or something like the agreement between 
him and the Father in love and benevolence, charity and good- 
will to ail men and one another. They were to have one faith, 
which was to be founded on his word, — the things which he 
taught them, and had promised to teach them. The common 

faith 



80 



SERMON V. 



faith of Christians is the word of God, which every believer is 
to make the best improvement of that he can. But what has 
all this to do with the sign of the cross, vestments, forms of 
prayer, kneeling at. the altar, with a number of regimentals and 
evolutions, which all pertain to the livery and exercise of the 
kingdoms of this world? 

The strongest argument which the learned Bishop makes use 
of is taken from the authority of the civil magistrate to impose 
ceremonies, or interfere, along with the church, to enforce them 
by his jurisdiction; and he thinks that we are obliged to obey 
him in this particular for conscience sake, because he doth 
command us. This argument would have its own weight in 
things which lay within the magistrate's jurisdiction; but when 
he steps out of his own kingdom, we owe him no obedience. 
Christ is the King and Lord of the conscience; and it is an en- 
croachment on his prerogative for the civil magistrate to inter- 
fere in things pertaining thereto. Christians know that they are 
bound to obey magistrates^to pay tribute, — to pray for them,— 
to fight for them, and defend them ; but to give them the honour 
which is due to Christ would be the ready way to ruin them. 
They refuse this honour to them out of love, and not through 
peevishness and obstinacy. 

Those articles and confessions do not answer the end for 
which they are said to be contrived : for there is no true unifor- 
mity where men are not of the same mind; and it is no evidence 
that people are of the same mind, when they subscribe articles 
merely to serve their own interest. It is not even good policy; 
for when men who do not believe these articles are admitted to 
subscribe them, and in consequence thereof preferred to places 
of trust in church or state, the government has no manner of 
security that they will be honest in discharging those duties 
which belong to their office. The principles which a man does 
not believe will have no influence on his conduct, even suppose 
he should subscribe them. I shall put the case that, in conse- 
quence of the alliance between the church and state, every mi- 
nister is to give security, by subscribing the articles of the 
church, that he is sound in the faith, and worthy to be an in- 
structor of his Majesty's subjects. These articles are all of 
them in matters of doctrine Calvinistic; and yet more than the 
half of them who have subscribed them are of a quite different 
way of thinking, as is manifest from almost all the modern ser- 
mons of the bishops and their clergy. What use are the articles 
for then? Where is this security that his Majesty's subjects 
shall be well instructed, when the subscribers of the articles do 
so manifestly contradict them? Who can believe the Doctors, 
in any thing where their own interest does not influence them, 
when they so barefacedly prevaricate with both God and man? 
I can compare the practice of our clergy, in imposing these 
articles, to nothing which fits better than to that of women who 

have 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



81 



have become prostitutes, who are always fond of seducing those 
of their own sex into the same practice, that they may have 
abundance of neighbours to keep them in countenance. 

Churches who will have articles to impose on their members, 
may fin:! enow of them in the New Testament, ready composed 
to their hand hy Christ and tiis apostles, and infallibly right and 
unalterable. The aposlles demanded a confession of faith from 
such as they received into their communion; but it was short, 
and veiy plain: " Do ye believe with all your heart that Jesus 
Christ is the son of God?"—" Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
ye shall be saved." — " If thou believest that Jesus is the Christ, thou 
may est be baptized " If men will impose articles of religion, let 
them impose what the Holy Ghost hath composed, and not the 
dogmas of weak fallible men. 

The record which God hath given concerning his Son, that 
in him there is " eternal life," which Moses and all the prophets 
bare witness to, is the confession of that society of which Jesus 
is the head. This record, which is published in the gospel, con- 
tains a description of the character of Jesus Christ, and a decla- 
ration of all his works as our Mediator; his death, and resurrec- 
tion from the dead ; his intercession for us at the right hand of 
God ; his coming to raise the dead, and judge the world, at the 
last day: in a word, this record shews to us, that " God is well 
pleased for his righteousness' sake." The true church of Christ, 
which is instructed more or less in all these articles by the in- 
fallible word, have no occasion for any other confession of faith. 
Articles of religion have been contrived, not to be tests of faith, 
but tests of ignorance, to save the indolent some trouble, and to 
shew the importance of the clergy; for a moderate acquaintance 
with the Scriptures would have served the purpose better, and 
would have been a better defence against errors of all sorts. The 
apostles in their time complained of errors and false teachers ; 
but we do not read that they fell into the humour of creed- 
making to prevent them. Some idle people, after their de- 
cease, were at the pains to compose one, and call it their's ; 
but it could never be made appear that they had any hand 
in it. 

Dupin, who was member of a church where creeds are very 
much in fashion, acknowledged), that though it contains a sum- 
mary of the apostle's doctrine, yet refuseth that they had any 
hand in composing it. It is, however, bating the story of our 
Saviour's descending into hell, by far the best of all the human 
creeds extant. 

Whatever might be the intention of the first composers of 
formularies of faith, it is easy to see they have answered no 
good purpose; for they have a direct tendency to cause people 
to think little of the Scriptures. It is our Saviour's express 
commandment to his disciples, to " search the Scriptures " and 
for this good reason, because they testify of him, and point out 



89 



SERMON V. 



the way of eternal life. It must argue, that either the Scriptures 
are imperfect of themselves, or so obscure that they cannot be 
understood by the common people, when there is such necessity 
of creed-making. But the clergy, of all men under heaven, have 
always been found the most unfit for finding out the meaning of 
Scripture; for, instead of finding out the meaning of what is 
obscure, they have for the most part darkened what was abun- 
dantly plain. 1 have somewhere read a story of a plain man 
at the council of Nice, who, after all the Doctors were put to 
silence by the friends of Arius, in a very simple and plain man- 
ner, in his turn, put the Arians to silence. I suppose it was by 
the Scripture, and not by the Platonic divinity, that this layman 
had the better of the Arians. Our Saviour has set us a good 
example for making use of Scripture. It was by this " sword of 
the Spirit" that he repelled the "fiery darts of the wicked one; 1 * 
and it is bv this that the " strong holds" of Satan are brought 
down. The Scripture is that faith whereby Christians " over- 
come the world" but it will be hard to find that ever either the 
Devil or the world were overcome by the whole Harmony of 
Confessions of Faith. They have rather been contrived to secure 
the privileges of those who call themselves the " Lord's ambas- 
sadors" and to keep out interlopers from making encroachments 
on the corporation of Doctors ; for there is scarcely a clergy- 
man, who once gets on the badge of his order, but grows zealous 
for articles and the rights of the clergy. This is all fair enough, 
provided they would not lay claim to some exclusive privileges, 
for which they can produce no charter, more than the rest of 
mankind. 

This subject suggests a question, which is worthy of some 
consideration, What is the faith which was by the apostles 
" once delivered to the saints?" Whatever this may be, it is the 
faith which all Christians ought to profess and hold by. The 
confession of this is the true confession of faith. 

We read in the New Testament of " the faith" — " the common 
faith"*-" the faith of God's elect"-*—" the faith delivered to the 
saints;" all which seem to point at the same thing. It is 
manifest to such as think soberly, that there could be no faith 
imposed on Titus, or any of God's elect at that time, but " the 
record which God gave concerning his Sow," which the apostles, 
as his inspired ambassadors, made known to the churches, and 
by his special authority obliged them to receive. None but 
God himself had any right to impose faith on any of his elect. 
What the apostles did by his appointment was the same as if he 
had done it; and we do not find, as far as there is any account 
to be had in the Scripture, that ever any attempted to impose 
articles on the believers of those times, but who were opposed 
by the apostles and the rest of the churches. It must then be 
reasonably supposed, that " the common faith " — " the faith of 
God's elect" — " the faith delivered to the saints" is the gospel 

revealed 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. S3 



revealed in the Scriptures, what the apostles preached, and left 
by divine direction in their writings; for at that time creed- 
making was not come in fashion. The whole of the Old and 
New Testaments were at first the faith of Christians, and may- 
well serve; for they contain all which God hath made known for 
our faith and duty. 

To confess the Scriptures to be the word of God, and declare 
our readiness to believe and observe whatsoever is pointed out 
there for our faith and duty, according as we can understand it, 
is all that Christians can reasonably require from one another. 
The Scripture is better calculated for making impressions on 
men's consciences, than any other compositions that have been 
yet found out. ' This seems to bo allowed on all hands among 
Christians in some particular cases, though they depart from 
this acknowledgment when they have their own interests to 
serve. The judges on the bench give a kind of testimony to the 
efficacy of the Holy Scripture for the discovery of truth, when 
they make use of the gospels in administering oaths ; and even 
the clergy, who do not account them sufficient for a test of 
faith, have the same recourse to them in their spiritual courts. 
If the gospel has such influence in causing people to speak 
truth, one would readily imagine, they might serve the purpose 
of being the Christian's confession of faith, better than any 
thing else. 

But, to finish this particular, let us consider the fitness of the 
Scripture to serve every purpose of faith and manners in the 
kingdom of Christ. " The law of the Lord is perfect, converting 
the soul; the testimonies of the Lord are pure, making wise the 
simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; 
the commandments of the Lord are pure, enlightening the eyes. 
Moreover by them is thy servant warned; and in keeping of them 
there is a great reward. Wherewith shall a young man cleanse 
his way, by being attentive thereto according to thy word. Re- 
member the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused 
me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction; for thy word 
hath quickened me." " All Scripture is given by inspiration of 
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
and instruction in righteousness." After considering the suffi- 
ciency of the Scriptures for all these purposes, there will appear 
to be but small necessity for any other articles of religion : and, 
seeing that the Scriptures are made the last report in a!l matters 
of consequence in religion, it is a sufficient argument to prove 
that there should be no other method of trial but by them ; for if 
they only are fit. to rectify ail disputes, alter they have passed 
through the impure mediums of human altercation and wrang- 
ling, it would appear that it would have been better to have 
begun where men are at last obliged to end. But the great evil is, 
men first contrive what sort of religion is best suited to their 

interests 



84 SERMON V. . 

interests and inclinations, and afterwards endeavour to press the 
Scriptures into its service. 

It will readily be acknowledged, that the doctrines in Scripture 
must be formed into propositions, before we can understand 
them, and our minds must make some arrangement of. the se- 
veral truths into certain order, for the sake of conceiving them 
right; but this must be the work of a person's own mind, and 
not of others. Suppose some men should be so kind, as to com- 
pose all the doctrines of Scripture into a certain order, and their 
form and arrangement should be ever so just, their inferences 
ever so true; yet no person is obliged to believe them, till once 
he shall examine them, and compare them with the word of 
God. This is but adding to men's difficulties; for he who can 
find the true meaning of divine revelation, reaches his purpose 
■without being at all concerned with any other person's inferences 
but his own. After a confession of faith is composed, there 
are two things necessary to be observed, before persons can law- 
fully give their assent thereto. They must, first, do the same 
thing which the compilers did, namely, " search the Scriptures" 
and see if their meaning and that confession agree ; and, secondly, 
form some rule of judging between the doctrines contained in 
Scripture, and those inferences said to be their meaning, com- 
prehended in tho?e formularies of human contrivance. 

It would be a happy thing for men, if they did consider re- 
ligion to be of as much importance as they do money. There is 
scarcely a son but will examine every shilling which he receives 
from his own father, and observe it with great accuracy; when, 
at the same time, he. can implicitly receive, upon his father's tes- 
timony, the whole articles of his faith. This says, that he sets 
a higher value upon his temporal interest, than upon things per- 
taining to another world. The Doctors of Divinity would per- 
form a better service to mankind, if they would constantly urge 
them to study divine revelation, and, as a mean to excite them 
to that study, to shew the excellencies of the Scriptures, and 
compare them with themselves, than by all the dry laborious 
compositions which their vain imaginations can suggest. It 
would disgust any sober person, who pays the least regard to the 
gospel of Jesus Christ, to hear men delivering the vain elfusions 
of their own imaginations for " the glad tidings" of joy and 
peace through the propitiation of our Lord and Saviour. I do 
not mean by this any reflection upon those whom the popular 
preachers bear ill will to, because they will not tell lies in their 
manner. All who substitute their own or other men's inven- 
tions in the place of revealed truth are equally guilty. It is of 
small consequence whether they be followers of Boston or 
Tillotson; if they follow not the truth, it is the same thing 
whoever they follow. 

But I shall conclude this discourse by putting all Doctors in 
Divinity in mind, that this title which they assume is really no 

honour 



T0 DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. S3 



honour to them. Can that be an honour to any man, which is 
contrary to the express commandment of our Saviour ? It may 
pass fur honour in this world; but in the kingdom of heaven it 
will be disgrace. It cannot be a literary honour; for many have 
obtained it who are no way remarkable for learning? It cannot 
be calied properly a test of merit and good deserving, when so 
many idle undeserving persons enjoy it. Men who understand 
the Scriptures, and are able to instruct their brethren in the doc- 
trines of the gospel from that source, are the true Doctors of 
Divinity; but those who are ignorant of divine revelation, and 
do not understand what " the Spirit saith to the churches" 
though they may be able to harangue an audience with much, 
oratory, are not Doctors of Divinity. Degrees of honour and 
dignity I should cheerfully allow to men of merit and skill in the 
arts and sciences; but forbidden honours can confer no glory on 
any man. The ministers of the word can never receive an 
higher title in this world than ministers of Jesus Christ, Per- 
sons who know the men that receive this honour from one ano- 
ther cannot help smiling, if they do nothing more, when they see 
persons of very little understanding, and as little learning, 
equally dignified with the wise and learned. The honours due to 
art and learning ought, undoubtedly, to be conferred on persons 
of capacity, for encouragement of men of genius ; but no univer- 
sity can confer honour upon ministers of the gospel greater than 
their Lord and Saviour hath bestowed upon them. Such as are 
preachers of the word are exceedingly ill to please, if they are 
not satisfied with the degrees which the great Bishop and Shep- 
herd of souls has conferred upon them, namely, that of minister, 
r servant of Christ. 

When a man of genius has a manuscript to sell, one would 
imagine that the learned universities might confer such degrees 
as would be no trespass upon the commandments of their Lord 
and Saviour. But when the precept is express, " Be not called of 
men Rabbi; for one is your Master, even Christ" it is certainly a 
manifest breach of our Saviour's commandment to receive any 
religious honour, which, in the capacity of teachers, exalts men 
above the rest of their brethren, unless in the channel which the 
Lord hath appointed. It is certainly a great mistake to suppose 
that a person who is qualified to teach divinity is also quali- 
fied to be Master of Arts; or that a Master of Arts is qualified 
to be a Doctor of Divinity : for they are as opposite to one ano- 
ther as the qualifications which are necessary to fit a man to be 
a member of the kingdoms of this world and that of the king- 
dom of heaven are. No good man would certainly envy those 
honours which are due to genius, or desire that they should not be 
conferred upon proper objects; but the least thing that could be 
expected is, that every man, who aspires after these marks of 
distinction, should deserve them. It is amazing, that the degree 
of Doctor in Divinity should contribute to sell a history, when 

N it 



S( > SERMON V. 

it is no evidence that a person is a good historian, because he is a 
good divine. A clergyman may be able to read the Hebrew 
Bible and the Greek New Testament, and understand the scope 
of divine revelation, and yet not be well qualified to write the 
History of England ; but if he is ignorant of the original of the 
Old Testament or the New, he is not a good Doctor of Divi- 
nity. 

When ministers of the word of God aspire after titles incon- 
sistent with that character, it argues a real want of the spirit of 
godliness. Do not smile, my good Doctors: this is not fanatical 
doctrine; it is the doctrine of our Lord and Saviour, who says, 
* 6 Be not called of men Rabbi; for one is your Master, even Christ" 
It is indeed very common for" those who affect to be high, and 
aspire after worldly dignity and honour, to brand those with the 
names of fanatics or enthusiasts, who find fault with their prac- 
tice, and scruple to pursue the same track with themselves. My 
audience may think their own way: but it is well known that 
nien may be fanatical in aspiring after vain honours, and enthu- 
siasts in seeking to be called of men Rabbi, as well as in other 
things. It is an easy matter to give names. It is truth which 
forms a character, and determines the real existence of things. 
But I shall now take my leave of the Doctors at present, and 
conclude my discourse. 



SERMON VI. 

Isaiah, ii. 17, 18. 

And the loftiness of men shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness 
of men shall be made low ; and the Lord alone shall be exalted 
in that day : and the idols he shall utterly abolish. 

HPHIS will be a sad mortification for Doctors of Divinity, who 
affect to be called of men Rabbi; and a dreadful disappoint- 
ment to those who are led by the names of men, who have been 
the idols of their party. This remarkable day will be surprising 
to many who were looking for something very different. Ah, 
what a cry may we suppose among the worshippers of idols! 
something like that of Micah 3 who pursued the Danites like a 
Bedlamite, crying, " Ye have taken away my gods which I have 
made, and the priest; and what have 1 more?" It will be a 
mortifying blow indeed to the sons of pride, to see all the 
Lord's people made kings and priests to God, and not one 
Doctor of Divinity among them. These words would seem to 
intimate, that there was a time to come, when all these honours 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



87 



and dignities, which are much esteemed by men, shall be of 
small account, and be little regarded. This day, mentioned in 
the text, is one of those days which in the second verse are called 
the last days, and very probably has a special reference to the 
time when the Most High should set up a kingdom, which shall 
never be destroyed. This promise was partly accomplished 
when the Messiah came, but was completely fulfilled after he 
rose from the dead, and received glory of his Father. In that 
kingdom which is not of this world, which Jesus established by 
the ministry of his apostles after the day of Pentecost, all the 
heights of human pride were brought down, and every real 
member of his kingdom made subject to his authority; and his 
church, ever since that time, in all her real appearances, has 
continued subject to his laws in all things. The world has gone 
on in its own way, and the members of the kingdoms thereof 
have proceeded in giving and receiving preferments from one 
another; but all those who have been called into the kingdom 
of God's dear Son have laid aside all thoughts of preferment 
till the coming of their Lord. 

Jesus began very early to give a pattern of his kingdom, and 
shewed, in the choice of his first disciples, an accomplishment 
of this promise. Instead of making choice of Rabbis to be his 
apostles, he chose mean fishermen, that the power of God might 
be exalted, and the pride of man abased. It was a great morti- 
fication to those who were first in the esteem of the people for 
piety, religion, and learning, to see one who pretended to be the 
Messiah pay such dry compliments to thern, and keep company 
with such as they despised. This alarmed the whole college of 
the Jewish Doctors, and made them seek the life of the innocent 
Saviour of the world. What an overturn did they now expect, 
when the Messiah, whom they were all looking for, and who 
gave infallible proofs of his character, began to lay the founda- 
tion of his kingdom upon the top of human glory, and buried all 
distinctions under the infinite displays of his sovereignty. This 
appeared to the Jewish Doctors like turning things upside down, 
and seemed to them to tend to a fearful revolution. It made 
them soon cry out, that the church was in danger, and the 
state in real jeopardy ; for, said they, if this man be suffered to 
proceed, the Romans will come and carry away our city and 
nation. The alliance between their church and state was what 
they could not think of having dissolved; the thoughts thereof 
alarmed them greatly. The cry was raised against Jesus as a 
seducer of the people, and one who wanted to change the laws 
and customs of the nations; for though they scarcely held one 
of the original laws of Moses without some perversion thereof, 
they were abundantly zealous for those they had substituted in 
their place. 

This promise consists of three parts; the humbling the 
pride of men; the exalting of the Messiah; and abolishing* 

idols; 



88 



SERMON VI. 



idols : all these three particulars take place in Christ's king- 
dom. 

If the Doctors of Divinity will be so kind as give a little at- 
tention, I shall endeavour to shew the import of this promise 
with regard to all these particulars, and shew, by Scripture in- 
stances, how this promise has been fulfilled and exemplified in 
real life. 

I. It is manifestly implied in these words, that all men natu- 
rally aspire to be high. There is a loftiness of heart in man, 
which disposes him to be equal with God, yea, independent 
upon the Almighty. 

The seed of Adam are all like him, and want to be as God ; 
their pride knows no bounds. Every man would be inde- 
pendent if he could. This is manifest from the aversion that 
they have to subordination, and the struggles they make to be 
uppermost: men who are not willingly subject to just and 
wholesome laws have it not in their heart to be subject to God 3 
and those who are averse to the government of a lawful superior, 
would throw off the dominion of the Almighty, if it were pos^ 
sible. Among professors of religion this is abundantly manifest: 
what is the reason that they envy one another's gifts, and grieve at 
their attainments, but that they want to be thought their su- 
periors. Whatever advantages may arise from this disposition 
in man, in the enlarging empires, and making nations flourish in 
trade and luxury, it will be hard to prove that it is a moral 
virtue; and in religion it always turns out to be a real vice- 
The strong bent of the human heart to be independent on God, 
is more especially manifest from the opposition which all men 
naturally make to the gospel. The first thing which the gospel 
makes known to man is salvation by the righteousness of a 
Redeemer, and that sinners are saved through the atonement of 
Jesus Christ. This strikes at the root of human pride in the 
first instance, and shews that we depend upon Christ alone for 
eternal life. This at once alarms the philosopher and the 
Pharisee ; for it sets aside the moral virtues of the one, and the 
experiences of the other, in the matter of acceptance with God. 
When these are once removed, both the philosopher and Pha- 
risee are obliged to rank with poor sinners, as objects of Divine 
mercy. The thoughts of being thus dependent is opposite to 
that opinion which every man naturally has of his own conse- 
quence. And, my dear Doctors, many of your sermons are a 
proof of what I have just now advanced. Do you not often tell 
poor miserable sinners, that a well-spent life, and a good conver- 
sation, will procure the Divine favour. Perhaps you are right. 
J5ut what makes a well-spent life? Can you, or any such sin- 
ners as you are, live without sin, or keep the law perfectly ? No life 
can be said to be so well spent, as to obtain the Divine favour, 
unless it be conformed to his perfect law. And suppose we 
should say nothing of original sin, yet your own actual trans- 
gressions 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



89 



gressions would be sufficient to bring you in guilty: for " there 
is no man who liveth and sinneth not " Why all the opposition 
to the atonement of Jesus Christ, when there is no such thing as 
hope of happiness without it? I am in pain for some of your 
Reverences, who shew such an aversion to the glory of God, 
and want to set up yourselves independent on his mercy. 

But my main position on this head is evident from the sad 
shifts which men take to support their notions of self-dependence, 
when their own consciences rise up against them. When they 
find that they cannot do altogether without an atonement, they 
admit its necessity, but take away the greatest part of its merits 
with salvos and requisites. Even faith itself, which is the gift 
of God, is substituted in place of the righteousness of Jesus 
Christ, and, instead of being considered as given to us in behalf 
of Christ ; it is viewed as a necessary qualification to interest us 
in him; so that his perfect righteousness is looked upon to be 
of no consequence, till once it pass through a few feeble acts 
of our corrupt minds. But tell me, O ye Doctors of Divinity, 
whether the righteous God, who forgives sin, blots out iniquity 
on account of the sinner's believing, or on account of Christ's 
finished work ? And whether, or not, faith is a gift bestowed 
upon those who are accepted in the beloved? or, are ssnners 
accepted because they believe? If they are accepted because 
they believe, then faith is the reason of their acceptance, and 
the atonement is excluded. But let us wait for the distinctions 
of the Rabbis. Faith is not the meritorious cause of justifica- 
tion; it is the instrumental cause thereof. And how many causes 
will the Doctors have for the same effect? Does not this border 
on contradiction ? Is there no true distinction between reasons 
and causes? Do we not call that a cause which produces the 
effect, and that a reason which was the motive for producing it? 
The righteous God is the cause of our justification, for it is God 
who justifies ; but the atonement of Christ is the reason thereof, 
for it is Christ who died. In the justification of a sinner I can 
find no causes but one, and that is God himself. If any shall 
say, the love of God is the cause thereof, then I say God is love, 
and we are just where we were. But the reason on which he 
proceeds in justifying the ungodly is the righteousness of his 
beloved Son, in whom he is well pleased; which is a perfect 
fulfilment of that law which sinners have transgressed, and a 
complete satisfaction to that justice which required punishment 
for the transgression. 

I think I hear some grave Doctor whispering, " But we are 
justified by faith, and have peace with God through our Lord 
Jesus Christ " This is all ri^ht, for these are Paul's own words % 
but the question is, by whose faith are we justified? This same 
apostle tells us, Gal. ii. 16. that " we are justified by the faith of 
Christ." That the faithful and true Witness perfectly fulfilled 
iris undertaking, on account of which God is just in justifying 

the 



90 



SERMON VI. 



the ungodly, and granting to them the power of believing in 
his name. Being justified by faith, and enjoying peace with 
God, are in that very text {Rom. v. 1.) said to be all " through 
our Lord Jesus Christ, tS Kv^la v^w 'iwrS x^ra. Hence it 
appears plain, that justification by faith, and peace with God, 
are derived from the same source. The Apostle, in his Epistle to 
the Galatians, explains what he means by being justified by 
faith, Gal. ii. 16.* He there intimates, in the plainest manner, 
that sinners are justified by the faith of Christ, and that the 
faith which the justified person is possessed of is obtained by 
him who is the faithful and true witness: " Through Christ w£ 
believe" says he, " that we might be justified by the faith of Christ* 1 
And this appears the more clearly, when it is considered that 
the apostle is opposing God's grace and mercy to works of the 
law of all kinds, good or bad. Our faith, as an act of obedience 
to the Divine commandment, is as much a work of the law as 
love to God or our neighbour; but all works of the law are ex- 
cluded in the matter of a sinner's justification, and the work of 
Christ alone exalted. All the reasons of justification are attri- 
buted to him; even our believing is through him, for it is given 
to us on the behalf of Christ to believe. What requisites are 
then necessary which Christ has not fulfilled? Even none at 

But if the Doctors will up and be doing, let them do their 
work to purpose; let them keep the law perfectly, and they 
shall be saved: but let them make no patch-work of it; for 
there is no reason to expect, that even peccadillos will be for- 
given upon the principles of the law or old covenant. The law, 
if it please your Reverences, is very strict; it is " holy, just, and 
good." 

As far as a sinner's justification comprehends his acceptance 
with God, it is impossible that any imperfect acts of the human 
mind can be the reason thereof; nothing less than a perfect 
fulfilment of the Divine law can, according to the spirit of 
Divine revelation, be the reason of a sinner's acceptance with 

* EiSoTEf ort a JtxajSrai «v9§w9rej if tgyuv vo/xy, la!v [/.■>} virtue IwS XgirS 
Hod ypue tie Xftfov 'IkvSv ivirtva-otixtv, hoc $iKouu>Quy.tv Ik virtue XgirS. To 
render these words strictly, they read thus: " Knowing that a man js not jus- 
tified by the works of the Jaw, but indeed by the faith of Christ ; even we, 
for the sake of Christ Jesus, have believed (or, on account of Christ Jesus) that 
we might be justified by the faith of Christ." The preposition £t ' ? may with 
more propriety be rendered, for, through, or on account of, than in. It is so used, 
Maith. x. 18, & jua§TU£iov avTo~e — also Luke, ix. 5, tie potgrvgiov. When tie 
governs the accusative, arid signifies in, motion to a place or rest in it is sig- 
nified; but when it points out the cause, manner, or instrument, it is frequently 
Otherwise rendered; as 1 Cor. x. c 2, voivrte de rov Muxrw t@x7r7uroiv1o 9 they were 
all baptized by Moses ; tie tov Muovv has the same force as HC^DSt % Moses. 
John i. 7, £aGev tie ^ol^v^ccv — He came for a testimony, or for the sake of bearing 
testimony. For these reasons I think that tie X§»ro» 'Iwo-Sv should be rendered, 
" through Christ we have believed, that we might be justified by the faith of 
Christ," 

God. 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



91 



€rod. The faith of Jesus Christ, which comprehends the whole 
of his perfect righteousness, deserves properly to be accounted 
the reason of a sinner's acceptance with the Almighty; and so 
the apostle might say with great propriety, we are justified by 
the faith of Christ. But there is as much difference between 
the faith of Christ and the faith of believers, as there is be- 
tween one fulfilling the law perfectly by his own merits, and one 
living by free promise and dependent on the merits of another 
for all things. 

The Doctors are not aware how much they nourish the pride 
of their hearers, by teaching them to seek to be justified by acts 
of their own mind; for as soon as they have pursued the usual 
round of mental exercises prescribed to them, they presently 
imagine they are justified, and on that account distinguished 
above, or from others. And what is always manifest in the 
conversation of such spurious believers, they are not remarkable 
for any qualification except that of self-righteousne>s. The 
long tedious process which they have been directed to go through 
in their supposed coming to Christ, suggest to them a number of 
distinctions between them and poor sinners, which very much 
lessen in their esteem the greatness of Divine mercy. Among 
people of this character, none have any reputation in the church 
for performing good works, and practising fervent charity, unless 
they can shew that they have gone through the ordinary process 
of a law-work; hence Christian esteem, among such believers, 
is not founded upon the self-evident works of brotherly love, but 
upon some hidden and variable feelings of the human mind. 
The palpable contradictions which are frequently to be met with 
in the sermons of Doctors of Divinity are a strong confirmation 
of what I have affirmed concerning the pride of the heart of 
man : for what, but the highest opinion of their own conse- 
quence, could influence them to think, that such glaring contra- 
dictions will pass among those who have the privilege to read the 
Bible? To tell us that sinners can do nothing, and then to 
exhort them to perform a work equal to that of making the 
world, is highly absurd. Your Reverences ought to know, that 
there is a difference between power and capacity: sinners are 
capable of being saved, but are not able to save themselves ; they 
have a capacity to believe, but want power to act faith, till once 
the evidence of the gospel be applied to their capacity. Men 
are distinguished from other animals by the capacity they are 
possessed of; they are capable of believing a testimony, which 
shews they are rational creatures; but they have an aversion to 
believe God's word, which shews they are sinners. 

This observation shews the necessity of offering evidence of 
the truth of religion, for it is evidence aione which can produce 
divine faith: but evidence and exhortations to believe are very 
different things. If all the Doctors in the universe should 
exhort me to believe, when I have no proof of the thing being 

true 



SERMON Vl 



true which is offered to my assent, I cannot believe it. After a 
preacher has offered all the proofs lie can in behalf of objects of 
faith, be has done all he can do to produce it. When sufficient 
proof of what is revealed is made plain to the capacity of those 
who hear it, their assent is both free and necessary. What I 
mean by this is, that a sinner, being persuaded of the truth of 
revelation, is disposed from the heart to give credit thereto. It 
is necessary for him to do so, because the evidence has overcome 
his aversion thereto, and in as much as his aversion is removed, 
he acts freely. It is evident that man is formed with a capacity 
to believe the gospel ; but the power whereby he exercises that 
capacity proceeds from the influence of the light of the gospel 
upon his mind, or, in the words of Paul, it is " the light of the 
glory of God, in the face of Jesus, shining into his heart" which 
makes him believe. 

I have often heard it urged by the admirers of some orthodox 
Doctors of Divinity, that the gospel can be of no service to 
sinners unless they can believe it, or at least attempt to do it; 
and that it argues men to be mere machines, to tell them they 
can do nothing in the matter of their own salvation. An't please 
your Reverences, I never heard of any machines that had any 
capacity to believe a testimony. Even that of the famous Mr. 
Moore wants this capacity. It is not making machines of ra- 
tional creatures to say, that their minds are so perverted through 
sin, that they cannot believe the record concerning the Son of 
God, till the aversion which is in their hearts against the truth be 
removed. " Why, but," says some self-righteous Pharisee, " what 
signifies preaching Christ to people who cannot come to him?" 
Truly the answer is easy. It is preached on purpose to draw 
them" when the Lord pleases. Some people think all things 
needless which they themselves have not an hand in; and this 
is the reason why proud men despise the gospel, because it tells 
them they can have no hand in their own salvation. It is pretty 
strange that learned Doctors should call men to run and fly to 
Christ, without supposing them possessed of either feet or wings; 
for if running and flying mean the same thing with faith or be- 
lieving, then we are sure that such exhortations can only have 
respect to believers, and not to unbelievers. I have somewhere 
seen it affirmed, " that if a thing so essential as faith be not in 
our power, and the time of believing be predetermined by God, 
there is no occasion for us taking any thought concerning it; 
and that the use of means is altogether needless." Though I 
believe it will be found in experience, that never any person was 
concerned to believe the gospel, in the proper sense of the words, 
till the evidence thereof made \ f s way into his heart; yet it is 
no small part of the condemnation of sinners, that they will not 
come to the light lest their deeds should be made manifest. As 
the neglect of the means of salvation is a despising the Divine 
authority, so sinners increase their condemnation by obstinately 

rejecting 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 93 



rejecting those means which are appointed by God for answering 
the end of happiness. If the Doctors shall join in the old re- 
proach, Why doth he yet find fault? who hath resisted his will? 
I refer them to the apostle Paul for an answer: " Hath not the 
potter power over the claxj, of the same lump to make one vessel 
unto honour, and another unto dishonour" 

II. Those things which men are naturally fond of, and esteem 
most, shall, when the power of the gospel operates upon their 
minds, be rendered to them of small account, and of little con- 
sequence. Sinners take pleasure in worldly praise and prefer- 
ment, and delight to receive honour of one another; but when 
the powerful light of truth shines into their minds, it teaches 
them the vanity of these things. There are many amazing in- 
stances of this fact recorded in Divine revelation. That of the 
apostle Paul is a remarkable one; after Jesus had revealed him- 
self to him, he accounted all the things of this world loss and 
dung, that he might win Christ, and be fouud in him. The 
preferment and honours which he had reason to expect from the 
college of Doctors, and his advancement in the Jewish Sanhe- 
drim, were now forgotten and left behind ; he valued these 
things no more. And what appears more surprising, he assem- 
bled with a people who were then despised by all the world, and 
who could not confer any temporal dignity upon him, but were 
sure to entail disgrace on his character, in the view of all men 
who were of any repute for either godliness or greatness in this 
world. Paul's loftiness was effectually bowed down, and all his 
Pharisaical honour laid in the dust. He confesses, that as a 
Pharisee he thought to do many things against Jesus of Naza- 
reth ; but all these vain thoughts were brought down, and made 
subject to the knowledge of Christ. The same thing happened 
to all who then embraced the faith of Christ. Barnabas, who 
was a Jew, sold his possessions, and laid them at the apostles' 
feet. What a strange downfal is this! The love of truth so 
filled his soul, that it excluded the love of the world, and made 
him rich in good works. Those very things which all men are 
naturally fond of were the very first things which the first Chris- 
tians parted with. Their religion certainly taught them this 
practice, and the promise of eternal life made them forego the 
enjoyments of this world in a great measure. More than all 
this, the esteem which men ordinarily expect for being religious 
they totally gave up. They expected no fame, nor any great 
name in this world ; but lived in hope of a crown of righteousness 
when their Lord should come again. One of the chief of these 
believers speaks of himself in a style which shews he had no de- 
sire of fame upon earth : '* / am less than the least of all saints, — > 
the chief of sinners." The loftiness of men was in that period 
effectually bowed down among the disciples of Jesus Christ; 
for they were all willing to prefer one another before themselves, 
and to submit to the meanest services for each other's good and 

O happiness, 



94 



SERMON VI. 



happiness. No station of life, nor height of condition, hindered 
them to perform good works to the meanest believer they were 
not ashamed of the company of poor Christians, but called all, 
who professed the same faith, brethren. They pretended to no 
claims of superiority over one another in the character of priests 
or bishops, but lived in mutual love, as members of the same body. 
They preferred humility above all things, and accounted those who 
possessed the highest degree of humility and self-denial greatest. 
This was a strange change of disposition, and required nothing 
less than the almighty power of God to produce it. The word 
Rabbi lost all meaning amongst them, and can never decently come 
again into a Christian dictionary. My dear Doctors, consider 
the life and practice of the apostles, and see how far your beha- 
viour differs from their conduct; remember also the words of our 
Saviour, " Be not called of men Rabbi; for one is your Master, 
even Christ." 

III. Jesus Christ was exalted, and received glory of his father, 
when he had finished the work which he had engaged to perform. 
He was raised again from the dead, and exalted to the right hand 
of God. This is an exaltation which he enjoys with all the pre- 
eminence which he merited. He is the first-begotten from the 
dead, and is exalted as the head of his church : he is the Lord, 
who, as the king and head of his church, is exalted above all 
principalities and powers, and alone bears the glory. He has no 
equal nor competitor among men or angels. The members of 
our Saviour's kingdom are subject to no jurisdiction but his in 
matters of religion; and he is the sole Lord of the consciences of 
Christians. There are no religious courts to which believers are 
subject, except where Christ alone is judge. To suppose courts 
acting by his authority, without being able to shew his appoint- 
ment thereof, is to suppose another authority beside Christ's in 
matters of religion ; which is abundantly profane. 

IV. The Lord Jesus Christ is alone exalted in that kingdom 
which he hath erected and established. The import of this senti- 
siif nt is, that in all things pertaining to his church he has the pre- 
eminence. His righteousness js alone exalted, as the ground of a 
sinner's acceptance with God. As soon as divine truth is once 
understood, it represents the atonement of Jesus Christ to the soul 
as the only requisite for salvation; and the Lord as our Righ- 
teouness is exalted in our esteem In the Lord alone,' 1 every 
person, who knows his word aright, will confess that they " have 
righteousness and strength ;" and " in him shall all the seed of 
Israel be justified, and shall glory." 

Those who are disposed to exalt the Lord, according to the im- 
port of the words of this text, discover their belief of the gospel 
report concerning his work which he fulfilled upon the cross, by 
abasing themselves in his sight, and before all men. As long as 
men are not acquainted with the import of this promise, nor expe- 
rience its power in the manner it was experienced by the disciples 

after 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



93 



after the day of Pentecost, they will be ready to diminish the merit 
of the work of Christ, by mingling their own works with his. 
This is an old evil among religious people, by which they dis- 
cover their enmity to Christ. The Galatians pursued this scheme 
as far as it could well go; they mingled the ceremonial law with 
the gospel, and still were disposed to be thought believers thereof. 
To such Paul says, that Christ profited them nothing. It is seldom 
affirmed, in so many words, that sinners can do any thing in the 
matter of acceptance with God; but at the same time the devout 
Doctors and Pharisees of the age say and affirm as much as ren- 
ders Christ's work of no consequence until the sinner performs his 
part. Justification is attributed to Christ's righteousness by the 
orthodox part of our modern Doctors ; but it is well known, 
that these very pious dignitaries tell us a very strange story con- 
'cerning believing, which they declare must precede our interest in 
his atonement. Allow me to ask your Reverences, how can faith 
interest us in the atonement of Christ, seeing that atonement is 
the true reason of our obtaining a true and unfeigned faith in the 
divine record ? " For it is given*' says the apostle, " to us, on the 
behalf of Christ, not only to believe, but to suffer for his name." 

But, an't please your Doctorships, how can an effect be the 
cause of its own cause? to speak in the style of Doctors of Di- 
vinity. If we receive faith on account of Christ's finished work, 
as a privilege bestowed for his merit, how can faith interest us 
in the righteousness of Christ, which is the meritorious reason of a 
sinner's believing ? Truly, gentlemen, I perceive your difficulty, 
and also foresee your shifts to get clear of it. Faith has no merit 
in it; and yet we are told, we are justified by faith. This is 
strange indeed, for sinners to be justified in the sight of God by 
a faith which has no merit in it! The law of God does not admit 
of this. A guilty person cannot be acquitted, except by an atone- 
ment. " Without shedding of blood there is no remission" of sin. 
But faith is an instrument of our justification. Indeed, gentlemen, 
you may call it any thing you please. What way is it instru- 
mental in a sinner's justification ? Whether is it God, or the sinner, 
who makes use of this instrument when justification takes place? 
Sinners cannot be instrumental by any act of their own minds in 
obtaining justification ; for it is an act of God's free grace, to 
which the act of the sinner's mind does no way contribute. It 
would appear, that the Doctors view the Almighty in the same 
light in which they view some angry ill-natured prince, who, 
when he is offended, will not pardon any offence without much 
ceremony and application. But God, who gave his Son, doth 
for bis sake "freely give us all things," and knows no higher 
reason, nor any other reason, that can abide examination in law or 
in justice, whereby a sinner may be justified or accepted in his 
sight, than the righteousness of the Redeemer. We have the Di- 
vine testimony for this: — " I am pleased for his righteousness 
sake"—*" This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" 

When 



96 



SERMON VI. 



When this promise in the text is fulfilled in any particular case* 
it realizeth the declaration of the apostle: " Being justified freely 
by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus." I had al- 
most forgotten that faith is an instrument of a sinner's justifica- 
tion. The Scripture no where says so : and I appeal to all the 
Doctors in Great Britain, if there are any such words in the whole 
Bible? Paul says, " We are justified by faith ;"— Abraham was 
justified by faith;" — " A man is justified by faith" but there is 
no such sentence in the Scriptures as that a sinner is justified by 
faith, when the word is used to signify an act of the mind. The 
doctrine which Doctors in Divinity frequently inculcate upon their 
hearers, namely, that they must believe on purpose to be justified, 
signifies neither more nor less than that a sinner is some way or 
other justified by an act of the mind; and this will be the chief 
and leading sentiment of the person's soul, till he see that his 
own faith, like his righteounsess, is filthy rags. By this deceitful 
orthodoxy, self-righteousness is reduced into a system, and poor 
sinful creatures set to work to act faith, on purpose to be justified ; 
which as soon as their vain imaginations conceive they are pos- 
sessed of, they glory in themselves, and value themselves as distin- 
guished above others. Instead of exalting the Lord, they are puffed 
up with the vain conceit of their believing ; and, as they grow reli- 
gious, they turn intolerably proud. This is remarkable among those 
who pass for " the converted," and " the saints," in certain places. 
The opinion which others conceive of them makes them conceive 
well of themselves; and, because they believe they are converted, 
they imagine they believe the gospel. But these are two very dif- 
ferent things. Many are persuaded they are converted, who never 
believed " the record which God hath given concerning his Son." 
Few people are disposed to believe the worst of themselves ; and 
it is easy to persuade them to what they are naturally inclined. 
But as the Christian religion is not merely an orthodox way of 
thinking, but a practical system of godliness, I shall shew a few 
instances in real life, wherein these words in the text were accom- 
plished. 

1. In the case of Barnabas, who was a rich man (for I would not 
choose to set mean examples before Doctors of Divinity). This 
man, when he believed the gospel, became humbled in a practical 
sense. He sold his possessions, and laid them at the apostles* 
feet, that the needs of other believers might be supplied. A lofty 
man could not have done this. Pride suggests to all unbelievers, 
that whatever they possess is their own : but the gospel persuades 
men of the contrary ; for no man has a right to call any 
thing his own, when his brethren have need thereof, and he can 
spare it. 

Barnabas is an instance of real humility. It would make the 
heart of many Doctors of Divinity sad, to be obliged to do as he 
freely did. Rather than be obliged to such an humiliating thing, 
many Christian Doctors would willingly make some explanation 

of 



TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 97 



of the spirit of religion, and adapt it to the taste of the times. 
Humility is a word often used, but not well understood. The 
power of the gospel only makes men understand it; and the 
true signs of humility are charity and love. The Doctors frequently 
tell us, that the practice of charity is altered since the days of the 
apostles; and for that reason they have conducted it in another 
manner, and rendered it more easy to rlesh and blood. To sell 
houses and land, to make provision for the poor, is thought not 
necessary. Let believers beg, say the Doctors. But, Sirs, prove 
that there were ever beggars in a New-Testament church, and I 
shall yield the point. If you believe the gospel, you will receive 
poor believers into your house, and support them. As soon as 
men's haughtiness is brought down, they submit, like Barnabas, 
to the charity of the gospel, and become fruitful in good works; 
they will even deny themselves a bonum magnum, to have it 
in their power to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. All the 
New-Testament believers were subject to the laws of Christ in 
all things, and did not endeavour to alter or change any of 
them. 

2. Paul is another instance of the reality of the above-mentioned 
truth. The apostle was fond of his own righteousuess, and the 
honours of the Doctors, while he continued in the Jewish religion; 
bnt when this promise was accomplished in him, he submitted to 
every institution of Christ. But, as I shall in another volume 
make this subject more plain, I shall conclude, lest I weary Doctors 
of Divinity. 



END OF SERMONS TO DOCTORS IN DIVINITY. 



NEW SERMONS 

TO 

ASSES. 



BY THE AUTHOR OF " SERMONS TO ASSE&" 



" And the dirt came out." — Judges, iii. 82. 




A NEW EDITION. 



Conlicm : 

PRINTED BY AND FOR W. HONE, 67, OLD BAIL.EY, 

THREE DOORS PROM LUDGATS HILL, 



1818. 



TO THE 



PETITIONERS AGAINST THE DISSENTERS' BILL. 



2 KNOW no persons to whom Sermons to Asses caw, with 
more propriety , be dedicated, than to you. Like Issachar, you 
are ready to couch down under every burden, and submit to the 
meanest slavery. Your submission to a burden of unmeaning 
articles, to you may appear reasonable; for you have an undoubted 
right to be slaves, if you please : — but it is even beneath the cha- 
racter of Asses to desire to enslave others. Could you not have 
been satisfied with your own burdens, and suffered the Dissenters 
to be freed from their's. Your petition savours rank of misan- 
thropy ; and your practice is like that of prostitutes, who, after 
they have parted with their own virtue, are the most zealous in 
seducing others. You assume the name of Protestant Dissen- 
ters, but 1 should rather suspect you to be infidels, who had given 
up revelation as a sacrifice to human compositions. If the 
Scriptures are not sufficient for directing the faith and duty of 
Christians, you are right; but, provided they are " profitable for 
fill things, to make believers perfect," your petition is not only 
against the bill of Protestant Dissenters, but against the supre- 
macy of Jesus Christ our Lord, and the perfection of Divine re- 
velation. Through all the varnish of outward piety and zeal for 
religion, the dirt of your Deism will come out. Though these 
Sermons may perhaps do you no good, they are intended for your 
edification, and are left to your serious consideration. 



THE AUTHOR. 



NEW SERMONS 

TO 

ASSES. 



SERMON I. 

Judges, iii. 22. 
And the dirt came out. 

]V| ORE dirt still! Will we never be cleansed from nastiness? 
±11^ Truly it has but an ill appearance, when matters are thus 
carried on in the land of Moab. While there are so many secret 
committees scratching dirt together, and washing none of it 
away, it is not to be supposed that Moab will be clear of filthi- 
ness, or Kerioth* purged from her impurity Moral dirt and 
nastiness in Moab was like her national debt, — it was long in be- 
coming less. 

For want of economy, the people were oppressed, and the 
king was poor. Every thing was taxed, from the souls of the 
subjects to their very skins. As soon as ever a soul happened 
to enter a body, and the body became visible, they were catched 
hold of by state priests, who set a price upon their heads, and 
taxed them directly. 

This argued that there was little economy in the nation, when 
they were not able to pay the officers of the state, without 
making a valuation of soul, body, and spirit, over ail the land. 
It was no wonder that aged persons were brougut in to uelp to 
pay the reckoning, when poor little strangers, who had never 
been partakers of the benefit of the police of the country, were 
laid under contribution. 

The landed interest of Moab appears to have been very low, 
and the country very poor; for they were obliged, when they 
had money to raise, to tax the sun, moon, and stars, house and 
shop windows, and sky-lights. In this land of oppression, 
nothing was free from taxing, except whores and bawdy-houses. 

These were kept clear for the benefit of the C 1, and the 

service of M rs of State. Eglon, though he was fat in 

person, was always poor in purse ; for though his revenues wera 



* The Metropolis of Moab.— Amos, ii. 2. 

B 



very 



2 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



very large, and amounted to very near a million of English 
coin, yet his ministers and stewards were so profuse in squander- 
ing away his annual income, that the civil list was continually 
deficient, and new demands made every meeting of the national 
convention for an augmentation. The secret services of the 
minister drained his Majesty's coffers, and made him a bankrupt 
every year. The subjects felt all this sensibly; for the money 
was obliged to be raised from all ranks of people, to supply the 
extravagances of the court. This alienated the hearts of the 
subjects from the King, and raised complaints over all the 
nation. There was no confidence between Eglon and his 
people; for tyranny always destroys confidence, and removes 
love and affection. 

There was one sore dirty grievance in the land of Moab, 
which in the end ruined the constitution of their country. The 
representatives of the nation, who should have been the guardians 
of their liberties, sold them to the crown, for places, pensio?is, and 
perquisites-, so that the very institution, which was originally 
intended to defend the nation from slavery, became in time the 
only means of wreathing a yoke of bondage about the necks of 
the people. This evil proceeded from the importation of foreign 
manners, and foreign luxury. The Moabites travelled abroad, 
and saw the splendour and luxury of foreign courts, where 
kings were arbitrary, and princes did what they pleased. 
When they came home, the impression of those gaudy images 
continued to act upon their imaginations, and they covefeed to 
enjoy the same things in their own country. But what helped 
much to answer their purpose, they brought home patterns of 
the things they wanted to have introduced, which catched the 
fancy of others, and made them travel to the same places, to 
bring home some of the same commodities. In process of 
time Moab became a new nation ; — the old customs were altered ; 
simplicity, frugality, and the ancient planiness of that nation, 
were changed for foreign fopperies and luxuries, which all 
tended to render the minds of men effeminate, and at the same 
time inclined them to sell every thing, to obtain the objects of 
their desire. 

It was the cause of much infelicity to Moab, that a great 
number of those who went abroad as mere adventurers, and had 
not learned the principles of morality and honour before they 
left their own country, grew rich in the regions of the East, 
and came home loaden with money, and drowned in vice. For 
want of education and good breeding, when they became rich, 
they turned intolerably proud ; they thought themselves the 
equals, or rather the superiors, of the ancient nobility, and en- 
deavoured to outshine them in splendour and magnificence. 
This awakened the jealousy and pride of the ancient grandees, 
who thought it beneath them to be outdone by those who had 
formerly been their fathers' footmen, and had obtained all their 

education 



SERMON I. 



3 



education in the kitchen. This, to be sure, was folly, but it was 
not easily prevented. The barons and knights in Moab endea- 
voured to keep their splendour equal to that of those Eastern 
nabobs, till at last their finances were reduced, and they were 
obliged to turn panders for the court, to save themselves from 
ruin and beggary. 

Eglon, and his minister Metophis, looked upon this as a good 
opportunity to play the game of tyrants; they took the advan- 
tage of the necessities of the great people, and introduced a 
system of places which were only to be enjoyed by the friends 
of the court, or such as wished well to its interests. By this 
means those who were appointed by the nation to guard their 
liberties in parliament were corrupted, and sold their consti- 
tuents for a place under, or a pension from the government. 
Morality left Moab before slavery entered ; but as soon as the 
principles of truth and honour departed, then slavery was ren- 
dered systematic, and considered as a necessary part of the 
police, by those who served their interests thereby. 

True-born Englishmen must pity Moab in such a situation, 
and congratulate themselves on their present happy circum- 
stances. How happy is Great Britain! where the people are 
easy, and the king rich; where no oppressive loads of taxes sit 
hard upon the poor subjects; but where all ranks of people 
rejoice together in the right use of plenty, honesty, and honour. 
An Englishman may look at the sun, and gaze at the stars 
through every window in his house, and none dare ask him a 
farthing for so doing. His windows are his own, and heaven 
sends him his light without fee or reward ; and who dare tax 
the bounties of God Almighty? None but Moabites. No spies, 
uor court peripatetics, dare circumambulate the house of an 
Englishman, to count his windows, or tell the number of the 
chinks in his walls. It would be uncharitable to suppose that 
in a Christian land there would be any imitations of heathenish 
oppression; the light of truth shining into the hearts of men 
prevents them from all acts of injustice and tyranny. In Eng- 
land every man who is baptized receives the Holy Ghost, ac- 
cording to the articles of the church, and must of consequence 
be sanctified wholly both soul and body. It cannot possibly 
happen that any thing impure, unjust, or unholy, can dwell 
where the Holy Ghost resides. 

Great Britain being wholly inhabited by Christians, except a 
few Jews in London, or in some large towns, must of conse- 
quence be very different from heathen and infidel nations. 
When an English officer goes to China or Bengal, he carries his 
religion along with him, and, for fear of offending God, abstains 
from all evil. This is the reason why Lord C — ve, after staying 
in India for many years, came home with a very competent 
portion of the good things of this life, and the blessing of Heaven 
along with it. This good G— 1 brought home all the virtue 

which 



4 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



which he carried out with him, and, for his virtuous offices in 
behalf, of the needy and distressed, was created, by our most 
gracious Sovereign, who knows how to distinguish merit, a peer 
of Great Britain. Who knows how much a person, who was 
in the least heathenishly disposed, might, in a few years, have 
gathered together in that land of gold and silver? But as for 
his Lordship, he was modestly satisfied with seventy thousand 
pounds per annum of British currency: this declared him pos- 
sessed of a very Christian disposition. His early education in 
his native country never forsook him during all the time of 
temptation in India; for mercy, modesty, and disinterestedness 
were conspicuous in his behaviour all the time of his pilgrimage 
in that sinful part of the world. A Moabite would have brought 
as much money home from such a rich country as India, as 
would have purchased the whole island of Great Britain : but 
his Lordship was Christianly pleased with seventy thousand 
pounds a year. 

The Moabites were such extravagant and dirty people, that 
when once they had gained large sums of money, they engaged 
in electioneering, and in a short time squandered away their 
fortunes in corrupting their fellow-subjects. But our Christian 
nabobs, instead of coveting to be great, and seeking to rank with 
peers and barons, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and relieve 
the distressed ; so that it is almost impossible for the Sovereign 
himseif to persuade them by his authority to accept of a ribbon 
or a garter. Lord C— ve will shine in the annals of modesty, 
charity and liberality, as long as mankind are able to remember 
how bountifully he gave away his jaghire to the poor, the 

miserable, blind, and naked. G 1 S h and his L-rdship 

will stand first in the registers of fame for chastity, charity, and 
every Christian virtue and grace. The ill-natured scabbed scum 
of the earth, the illiterate populace, who pick up all the lies 
which are published in Chronicles, Journals, Morning and Even- 
ing Posts, may traduce these amiable characters as they please, 
but it is well known that they are pertect patterns of virtue and 
godliness; that, except Lord S — d — h, there are few persons 
more godly in the nation. It is scarcely possible for a Christian 
to endure to hear how wickedly the vulgar talk against their 
superiors, merely because they are more virtuous than them- 
selves; they speak of a Minister of State keeping a brace of 
w— — es as if it were the sin against the Holy Ghost, and cry 
out against them for devouring the nation's money, as if it were 
the sin of Sodom ; whereas it is well known that nobody of 
rank would regard them if they did not do the first, and without 
the latter they'would not be able to do it. Had those patriots 
been in Moab, they durst not, for the ears of their head, have 
proceeded as they do; they would soon have been shut up in 
the Tower of Kerioth, to bring them to consideration, and been 
made to f£el the smart of their folly, for mentioning that stale 



SERMON I. 



5 



and antiquated thing, liberty. Liberty! have the scum of the 
earth any liberty? Did Providence intend that they should be 
free who have no money, and are of no service to the government, 
unless to be sent to St. Vincent's to kill the Caribbs, and to be 
scorched to death with the heat of the sun? Liberty is only the 
privilege of such as have acquired good fortunes, and are friends 
to good ministers : these have a right to bask in the sunshine of 
favour, and rest at ease in the midst of every delicious pleasure. 
The poor were made for their service, and are their own goods 
and chattels. Since liberty came in fashion, persons of rank and 
condition cannot enjoy their pleasures, without being posted up 
as sinners in every newspaper in the nation. Were those printers 
among the Moabites, their printing-presses would soon be con- 
verted into fuel for the royal kitchen, or burnt by the hands of 
the common hangman. But the meek temper of Christian 
ministers of state makes them endure all things, and suffer all 
things, for the sake of their own interest. History cannot afford 
an instance of any Christian government ever attempting to 
restrain the liberty of the press- The Moabites, the Ammonites, 
the Hittites, the Perizites, and Jebusites, may have done it ; but 
mind, these people were not Christians, but Heathens. If any of 
them have got into this nation, Libera nos % Domine : but we hope 



know that our King is pious, and, according to his station, has a 
negative in every act of parliament when he pleases; and if some 
wicked people were disposed to frame bad laws, he surely would 
not suffer them — nay, forbid it, ye powers which preside over 
royalty! suffer not the best of kings to stain his reign, and 
tarnish his character, by such indifference about the welfare of 
his subjects. 

In the land of Moab there was one very dirty practice; — th» 
judges were partial, and perverted the law. This appears mani- 
fest from the threatening which the Almighty denounces against 
them — " And I will cut off the judges from the midst thereof* 
and will slay all the princes thereof, saith the Lord." * The 
threatening plainly supposes that the judges were corrupt, other- 
wise the Lord would not have threatened to cut them off. In 
that land of ungodliness, judges thought it no crime to mislead 
and brow-beat juries, and alter records: this they could do with 
impunity, because the princes supported therh. Such as were 
not friends to administration were sure to lose their cause, how- 
ever righteous it might be; for though it could not be done by 
the laws of the land, yet the judges could find precedents, which 
served the same purpose. In heathen countries this is very fre- 
quently done. Nothing could prevent the like practices amongst 
judges in Great Britain, but the power of godliness, and the 
influence of the gospel, which rule in the hearts of Christian 



better things from the influence 




* Amos, ii. 3. 
C 



magistrates; 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



magistrates ; — for as all the judges in England are regenerated 
when they are baptized, it must of consequence preserve them 
from sinning till the}' are confirmed ; and being again established 
by a second regeneration, by the hands of the Bishop, they are 
preserved from doing wrong till the end of their days. This 
must certainly be the reason why we seldom find that when writs 
of error are obtained, that the sentences of the judges are re- 
versed by the parliament: they are always found to be so perfect, 
that they need no alteration. Some ill-natured people have 
affirmed, that the judges in North Britain behaved but indiffe- 
rently upon a certain occasion, a few years ago, and determined 
a cause against a righteous heir of an estate, which the peers of 
the realm saw meet to reverse. But as this happened principally 
through the tenderness of the conscience of the president of 
the court, it ought to be gently censured, because it is a case of 
conscience. That gentleman was convinced of his former error 
by a powerful illumination, which he was not able to resist, and 
for that reason changed his opinion for the sake of his con- 
science. Some say that it was a dirty affair; but this I shall 
leave to the Doctors of Edinburgh, who are better acquainted 
with his Lordship's cases of conscience than I am. I hope that 
the uncharitable and censorious populace will not compare the 

Presi'dent of the C— — t of S n in Scotland to Moabites, or 

the sons of Ammon. They ought to remember that his Lord- 
ship is a Christian, and a judge in a Christian nation, where a 
man may err, but cannot go wrong. 

The Moabites were very filthy and dirty sinners. There seems 
to have been Sodomites amongst them; for the Almighty 
threatens them, that he will make them like Sodom *. This is a 
crime peculiar to heathens, and is quite inconsistent with the 
Christian religion. The Greeks, and Romans, and Moabites, 
practised it, and their magistrates winked at it, because they 
practised it themselves; but wherever it is overlooked, it is 
absolutely certain that there are no Christians there. 

It is a great happiness to us who live in Great Britain, that no 
such crime is ever committed against us, but what meets with an 
exemplary punishment. Both the laws and judges condemn it; 
and the criminal is appointed unto death, without benefit of 
clergy, or hope of pardon. Such monstrous dirt and nastiness 
cannot be endured in any Christian nation: but among the 
Moabites it was common and open ; and though, for the sake of 
form, the judges and juries sometimes condemned the guilty 
culprits, yet the king's mercy preserved the sinner, and over- 
looked the crime. The court of Moab seems to have been full 
of S — — ites; for though the king himself was clear of the 
crime, the intercession of his ministers, who had a fellow-feeling 
for those dirty sinners, prevailed with him to pardon those 



* Zeph. ii. 9. 



unclean 



SERMON I. 



7 



unclean persons. Such unnatural vices as were practised in 
Moab are fit to make the flesh of a Christian shiver; but how 
must it fill the soul with horror, to think that such as were 
living in the constant practice of this horrid sin, were also 
living upon the spoils of their country, and eating the bread of 
the government. O happy England! who can charge thee 
with vices of this sort? The powerful doctrine which is so 
frequently preached by thy Bishops prevents such impurity to 
be found in thee. The large and liberal sums of money which 
are bestowed upon them are truly and properly applied. Their 
doctrine drops like the dew, and distils like the rain; they are 
'* instant in season, and out of season" Is there a Sunday that 
passes, upon which they do not preach? And are they not 
careful to have all the churches filled with learned, honest, and 
faithful ministers? Satan is now set adrift, and forced to flee 
the country. Some of thy clergy, O England ! have banished 
the Devil out of the world ; there is no scare-crow now to fright 
the ladies; nor are there any such words in the Bible as either 
hell or the devil, tofrighfeen timorous souls. It is only in Moab, 
or heathen countries, that such dirt comes out. 



SERMON II. 

Judges, iii. 22. 

And the dirt came out. 

r pHE people of Israel had done evil in the sight of the Lord» 
* before that they were delivered up to the tyranny of Eglon 
king of Moab. This is manifest from the 12th verse of this 
chapter where our text is. Men may thank themselves for every 
yoke of slavery which is wreathed about their necks. Their 
own hands twist the cords which keep them in bondage. A 
wicked people can never be free. The Almighty vindicates his 
own character when he delivers wicked nations up to the dominion 
of tyrants; because when they transgress his laws, they renounce 
his authority, and by that means become slaves to their lusts. 
The service of God is the only true liberty, and is infallibly at- 
tended with peace and happiness. But when a people indulge 
themselves in the gratification of forbidden pleasures, they make 
God their enemy, and then none can help them. Eglon and his 
people were but savages to take advaniage of Israel's misfortune. 
This was not the first ill turn which Moab intended the seed of 
Jacob. When Israel was in the wilderness, the Moabites seduced 

thetu 



8 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



them from the ways of righteousness by their daughters, and 
their gods: " And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began 
to commit whoredom, with the daughters of Moab\ and they called 
the people to the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat t 
and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself to Baal- 
peor, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. 1 '* 
There was a trick lor ye! When they could not subdue Israel 
by force of arms, they overcame them by their women. They 
knew if they could once introduce whoredom and idolatry into 
the camp of Israel, they would soon ruin them. The Israelites 
learned fornication from the Moabites, as the English learn gal- 
lantry from the Italians and French. It is dangerous to have too 
much correspondence with foreigners, lest we should import 
more of their vices than their money or their virtue. 

Moab appears lo have been a lascivious, unclean nation, full 
of moral dirt and nastmess. It was no wonder that the dirt 
came out. I wish I could spare the fair sex, It is a pity to find 
them in the kennels of uncleanness; but there has been little 
dirt in the world where they have not had their fingers. When 
men are bent upon pursuing their lusts, and gratifying their 
appetites, they are near to destruction. Where will not a 
man's lusts lead him, when he gives way to them? Israel, to 
please the damsels of Moab, bowed down to their idols, and 
joined themselves to Baalpeor. Dirty and unclean persons will 
sell their souls and their religion to have their lusts satisfied- 
There is nothing which more effectually cools the affections of 
the mind to virtue and ggpdness than sensual lusts; for un- 
clean Moabites will sell their nearest and their dearest things 
to obtain what lasts but for a moment, and leaves an abiding 
sting behind it. The Moabitish lusts, when they were engrafted 
into the constitution of the Israelites, made them sell their God 
and their glory for a momentary gratification. These poor un- 
clean creatures, I cannot tell what to compare them to; they 
are like — they are like — to a Scotch presbyterian bowing his knee 
at the altar, in an English church f for a post or pension under the 
government. How decently would an Israelite appear, escorted 
by a Moabitish harlot, to perform the sacred orgies of his holiness 
Baalpeor! No Israelite, in whom there is no guile, would at- 
tend devotion in such a manner. Such practices are peculiar to 
heathens; for none who fear the God who made the universe 
will prostitute their characters, or pollute their consciences, with 
such abominable things. 

In Britain it is a thing unknown for the fearers of the Lord to 
commit uncleanness. Men of rank and character flee from har- 
lets, as they would shun the pestilence. The situation of Doc- 
tors' Commons at present is a living proof of the chastity of the 
primores optimatum of Great Britain. Those officers whose 



* Numb. XXV. 1, 2, 8. 



business 



SERMON II. 



9 



business it is to deal with fornicators, and issue divorces, have of 
late years had but a poor time of it. Their fees have decreased 
in such a degree, that it is a wonder how they make a shift to 
live; and unless they were otherwise provided for, they could 
not breathe upon the quantity of fornication which is practised 
in Great Britain at this day. 

It was otherwise in Moab; the Doctors who presided over 
fornication in the temple of Chemosh, were never a term with- 
out several capital causes, which issued in a divorce, and brought 
swinging fees to the judges who superintended the article of 
dirt. But all this, though it brought liberal sums to the clergy, 
and totally separated a man from his wife, and a wife from her 
husband, did not hinder the parties from marrying again; the 
parliament of Moab could set aside the divorce in that parti- 
cular, and grant liberty to both parties to choose new partner* 
to themselves. T here is an instance in the history of Moab, 
where the Duke of Shittim, after having neglected the Bati of 
Heshbon's daughter, and tempted her to commit crim. con. with 
my Lord Nebo, pursued for a divorce from his lady, and she was 
accordingly divorced from him ; but in a very short time she was 
married to my Lord Nebo, and the Duke of Shittim took to wife 
a daughter of one of the priests of Cbemosho So matters were 
much in the situation they were in before. 

But this practice was contrary to the laws of nature, and the 
whole tenor of revelation. But what do the men of Moab regard 
the Scriptures? They are all heathens, and pay no regard to 
the Old or New Testaments. Were such a thing clone i>n Eng- 
land, they might as soon eat the mitres from the heads of the 
Bishops, and tear their lawn sleeves into targets, as think to live 
all their life-time in adultery. The parliament, instead of re- 
lieving them from the censures of the church, would confirm the 
sentence of divorce, and they could never enjoy a place nor 
office under the government. The King would kill them with 
frowns, and the church would not allow them to take the sacra- 
ment ; which is the only test whereby they can be qualified for 
any office in his Majesty's service in England or Ireland. 

In this Christian land adultery is accounted such an heinous 
sin, that if an adulterer was to go to court, the whole of his 
Majesty's favourites would frown upon him, and forbid him their 
company; and our most pious Sovereign would as soon admit 
the plague into his house, as suffer a whoremonger to attend his 
court. These votaries of Venus, and devotees of Baalpeor, would 
not even be admitted into the lobby among noblemen's servants 
and footmen, for fear of corrupting them. Since the execution 

of Captain J s, all unclean persons keep at a distance from 

the court: and well they may; for what concord hath light with 
darkness? or what agreement can the godly ministers of a pious 
prince have with a ers, s tes, and fornicators? 

But, alas! the case is otherwise in Moab, Eglon, through tbe 

influence 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



influence of his favourite Metophis, admitted all the fornicators, 
who were friends to arbitrary government and tyrannical mea- 
sures, into his confidence; and when one of his own brothers 
thought fit to forsake the ways of uncleanness, and mairy after, 
he could never be prevailed upon to admit him into his presence. 
While the most notorious fornicators, and men suspected of the 
most unnatural wickedness, were objects of royal favour, and 
were suffered to bask in the sunshine of the court, the royal 
brother was obliged to keep at a distance, and spend an 
innocent rural life with his lady in the harmless retreats of the 
country. 

When a true-born Englishman reflects upon these thing9, 
what reason has he to value his privileges? Had he been born 
in Moab, or brought up among the Midianites, he could have 
called nothing his own; and what is still worse, he might have 
been taught to think light of sin, and run riotously with all the 
sons of wickedness^ in the most shocking vices and abominations. 
Instead of receiving the Holy Ghost at baptism, and being con- 
firmed in a state of grace by the hands of a holy bishop ; instead 
of being taught the catechism of the church, and instructed in 
the knowledge of who are his god- fathers and god-mothers, and 
what they did for him, he might have remained ignorant of those 
important objects of knowledge, and joined himself to Baalpeor, 
and feasted upon the sacrifices of the dead. 

There was one dirty vice which prevailed in the nation of 
Moab, in the days of Eglon, and that was selfishness. Tim took 
place of all the ideas of commonweal, and rendered every man 
indifferent about his neighbour's welfare. It prevailed so far, 
that the most near relations and friends lost all the feelings of 
humanity towards one another; and provided they could find 
materials to nourish their own pride, and support their own inte- 
rest, they were indifferent if all others went to the Devil. In 
towns, contiguous shopkeepers, and persons in the same branch 
of business, envied and grieved at one another's prosperity, and 
nothing pleased them so much as to hear that they were fallen 
back, and at the point of being made bankrupts. They were 
sure to improve every hint to the disadvantage of their neigh- 
bours, and magnify every disagreeable circumstance beyond all 
the bounds of charity and truth. The ladies at their tea-tables 
(for we may be sure they would not want tea in Moab, for they 
were nearer to the East Indies than the people of England), were 
ready to attribute the failing of the husband to the extravagances 
of his wife, and hand about her reputation through every gossip- 
ing society, with colourings no ways favourable to her interest. 
And the husband, among his most intimate friends and com- 
panions, as soon as he was perceived not to be, in the mercantile 
style, a good man, was painted forth as a monster of villainy, 
unfit for the society of trading Moabites. Yet this was all done 
in his absence, when he was not present to hear it; for they, ac- 
counted 



SERMON* IT. 



11 



counted it immoral in the land of Moab to speak ill of a msrn to 
bis face, because it gives him pain and uneasiness, and may pro- 
voke him to do or say a rash thing, with respect to the person 
who traduces him. But when he is not present, there is no harm 
in abusing him, because he does not hear it, and can do no mis- 
chief to those who abuse him. This was a very dirty practice, 
and never can possibly happen in any Christian nation. In Eng- 
land, though this practice is not expressly mentioned in tha 
Thirty-nine Articles, and there are no acts of parliament against 
it, yet it never can be pursued in that nation, nor any other^ 
when the inhabitants believe the gospel; and the reason why 
there are no articles nor laws against private scandal is, because 
the gospel supposes it impossible for a Christian to be guilty of 
it; and always declares those who practise it to be Moabites, 
and not true Israelites. In this blessed and happy land, you 
may go into a thousand companies, and hear them speak upon 
as many subjects; but, unless there are some Moabites amongst 
them, you will hear nothing except truth, mutual tenderness, 
and love expressed concerning all mankind. 

The women in England are not like the jilts in Moab, who 
were continually either gossiping or doing nothing. The fair 
sex in this holy nation are better employed; the young women 
attend constantly to domestic exercises, such as spinning, sewing, 
knitting or such like honest employments. Here you will not 
find a lady who does not wear a gown of her own spinning, and 
a head-dress of her own making. You would almost take every 
house to be a manufactory, and every lady to have served an 
apprenticeship to her business. The mothers are constantly 
employed in teaching their daughters virtue and economy, and 
the daughters imitate their mothers in every virtuous principle 
and deed. Children in England are not instructed in notions of 
their own consequence and importance, nor allowed to hope for 
praise till they deserve it. The little masters and misses are 
taught to fear God, and to honour their parents and superiors, 
before they are put to the dancing school, or suffered to keep 
company. They are all tirst made to read over the Bible, before 
a novel or a play is suS'ered to come near them. And as for 
modesty in the young girls, and meekness in the boys, which is 
all owing to their good education, the Spartans were but a faint 
imitation thereof. Yon will not see a young well-bred English 
lady set up her crest, and talk with assurance and pertness, but 
with a modest diffidence of her own abilities, express herself with 
a free yet decent deportment. 

In Moab the case was the reverse; the women there vfere 
intolerable. You might have travelled over a whole county, and 
gone through a whole town, before you had seen a woman of any 
quality, who knew how to spin wool, flax, or cotton; or who 
could knit a pair of stockings for her own legs — (pardon the ex- 
pression, for what have legs to do in a sermon?) There you 

might 



12 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



might have perceived a family of young women all sitting with 
their arms cross-ways, inclined downwards, retailing scandal 
with their tongues, and abusing the character of some absent 
person. If one of their own sex was married, they would 
diminish her fortune and virtue to such a degree, that those who 
knew no hetter would have imagined she was a beggar and a 
profligate. " He has gotten a fine bargain — Poor man! — Had 
he known her as welLas I do, it would never have been a match. 
But the creature was such a wheedling minx — You know how 
she behaved at the ball— Ah, what impertinence! — She is— I'll 
say no more concerning her." 

In this land of vanity and sin, the first books that a young lady 
is taught art The Fashionable Lovers, The Provofcd Wife, some 
Lectures upon Quadrille, and The Way to Keep Him, and a 
number of profane novels, which an English lady would tremble 
to read, for fear of tainting her virtue. In Moab it was usual for 
the Duchess of Heshbon, or the Mayoress of Kerioth, to bespeak 
a play, and invite all their neighbours, and treat them with 
tickets: this was intended to give opportunity for assignations, 
and to learn them to be fashionable lovers. In consequence of 
such behaviour, there were few days passed in Moab without 
some accounts of dirt coming out, and discoveries made of 
scenes of iniquity, which an English lady could not endure to 
hear mentioned. But, lest I should make the godly ladies of 
Great Britain blush, I shall conclude this Discourse. 



SERMON III. 

Judges, iii. 22. 
And the dirt came out. 

IT is highly probable that some Christian monarchs woald 
have done the same thing that Eglon did, provided they had 
been as sore frighted as he was. He had received a mortal 
y^ound from the dagger of Ehud, and was struggling with the 
agonies of death. Perhaps he was not acquainted with the 
system he was then going to enter into, and was afraid lest he 
should be called to an account for his mal-administration in this 
present world. Wicked men make a poor figure at their latter 
end; their consciences tell them what they deserve, and the 
uncertainty of forgiveness of their crimes creates a horror in 
their minds, which the highest degree of natural bravery cannot 
overcome. Having never been acquainted with the character 



SERMON IIL 



13 



of divine mercy, during their pilgrimage in this world, they are 
afraid when they die, that the Deity will be as unrelenting 
towards them in the next life as they have been to others in this 
present system. Eglon was an oppressor and a tyrant, and had 
never cultivated the ideas of mercy in his own heart; he knew 
not but all other beings were as malevolent as himself, and was 
terrified that the measure he had met would be measured to him 
again, in a place where he had no authority, power, nor interest, 
to secure himself. All sinners who die in their iniquities will 
make but a dirty latter end. Death brings princes and peasants 
to the same situation in point of authority and power ; and a 
royal carcase will rot in the grave as easily as that of a slave. 

Moab, from the earliest period of its existence as a nation, 
seems to have been the very sink of wickedness. From the days 
of Moses till the time of the prophet Amos the whole history 
of that people declares that they were desperately wicked. The 
Psalmist compares Moab to a washing-pot, thereby signifying 
the impurity and filthiness of that people. 

If I were to describe the filthiness of Moab at large, and to 
set forth in order the vices of that dirty nation, it would be im- 
possible to make the people of Great Britain believe that there 
were such monsters in the world. The charity which Chris- 
tianity obliges the people in England to practise would not suffer 
them to think that there was so much sin and abomination in the 
habitable globe. To give a brief hint of the character of the 
Moabites, it may be necessary to consider the state of their 
clergy, their judges, their army, and police. 

First, with regard to their clergy, it may be observed, that they 
were both covetous and profane. Balaam, who was one of the 
chief of them, and probably sustained a character much like 
that of metropolitan of all England, was a very selfish and 
wicked man. Under the government of such a selfish and 
covetous chief, it cannot well be supposed that the inferior part 
of the clergy would be very virtuous. Imitation has a great 
influence upon mankind, and inferiors are always ready to look 
up for a pattern from their superiors, and as ready to copy it, 
provided it suits the leading bent of their inclinations. It is 
said of Balaam, that he loved the wages of unrighteousness. 
Perhaps he preached but seldom, and was a severe exactor of 
tithes: this was both unfair and unrighteous; for no man 
ought to enjoy perquisites which are annexed to the duties 
which belong to any office, without performing them. This is 
unrighteous and unjust, and is a manifest prostitution of the end 
of religious appointments. The common sense of mankind will 
teach every one, that there is no reason in one man's performing 
the labour, and another person's devouring the reward thereof. 
It is but just that every man should eat the fruit of his own 
labour. It is a Scripture maxim, that those who will not work 
Should not eat. If this rule was applied in practice to religious 

D officers, 



14 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



officers, prelates in all churches would receive least, because they 
preach seldomest. It would be miserably hard upon the poor 
curates in Moab to drudge and slave for the bishops and the 
superior clergy, when some of them scarcely received thirty 
pounds a year. What an unrighteous thing must it have been 
for a poor working clergyman, with a large family, to preach and 
starve upon thirty pounds; when an huge paunched bachelor, 
who performed no duty, was rioting voluptuously upon twelve or 
fourteen thousand pounds per annum. 

It does not appear that the clergy of Moab rode in coaches; 
but that might be owing to the custom of the country. Balaam 
kept a good ass; and in this we must give him the preference 
to our English bishops, who will be pleased with no less than a 
coach and six. In this particular the priests of Baalpeor were 
more like our Saviour, than any Christian bishops which now 
exist upon the face of the earth ; for they rode upon asses, as 
he did. Had Balaam been as like the Messiah in other respects 
as in this, he might have been placed in the calendar of saints; 
and, to do him justice, he deserved that character as much as a 
great many that stand there. 

History does not say that there was any alteration in church 
government from the days of Balaam till the reign of Eglon. It 
is therefore reasonable to suppose, that the church of Moab was 
still upon the same footing upon which it was placed by this 
Archbishop of Pethor. Balaam seems to have been the author 
of the Athanasian Creed ; for he was fond of cursing those who 
were not of his profession, and who he thought were not 
friendly to his interest. It is certain that Athanasius had no 
hand in it, and it is very probable that it was composed by father 
Balaam, and found among his manuscripts, by some who were 
searching for curiosities and antiquities. Perhaps if the Vatican 
at Rome, or the Cottonian library at Oxford, were carefully exa- 
mined, the original manuscript, or at least some very ancient 
copy, might be found, written in the Moabitish language; 
for it is manifest that it could not be the composition ot any 
Christian. 

The idea of preferment had a great influence upon the clergy 
of Moab; for they did not scruple, for the hope thereof, to assist 
the King in the most sinful and absurd practices. Archbishop 
Balaam no sooner heard the promise of honour and preferment, 
than he immediate ly saddled his ass, and set out on his journey 
to curse Israel. This shews how wicked the dignified clergy of 
that nation were; when the metropolitan of all Moab, for the 
hope of honour and preferment, could proceed so far as to ask 
God to curse a people who had never injured him. Ah! what, 
what will not priests do, who are under the influence of the god 
of this world, and mean no more by assuming religious offices 
than to serve their own private temporal interest? What can 
tempt bishops, when they vote in parliament, to take sides always 

with 



sermon nr. 



15 



with the court against the liberties of their country, but a desire 
of honour, and the hope of gain? I mean heathenish bishops, 
such as are the descendants of Balaam, the metropolitan of all 
Moab. This is no reflection upon the apostles of our Saviour, 
and their followers (for successors they had none), who walked 
humbly, and never asked preferment f i'om any of the powers of 
this world. The true bishops, the iwirmoi of Curist, who are 
only overseers of single congregations, expect no preferment till 
their Saviour come again. 

It is a very dirty affair for the teachers of righteousness to 
covet those honours which no Christian can enjoy without en- 
dangering his principles, and wounding his conscience. Had 
temporal dignity ever been intended to have been united with 
sacred offices, there is no question but either our Saviour or his 
apostles would have shewn an example thereof, or given some 
hints of its character or necessity. But there is not one word in 
all the New Testament of this alliance, but much to the con- 
trary. Church hierarchy is of heathen original, and owes its 
existence to the Archbishop of Pethor. The church of Rome 
and the church of England boast ot their antiquity ; and it must 
be allowed that their plan is very ancient; for it is derived from 
the scheme of government which was formed by Balaam in the 
days of Moses. 

Secondly, the judges of Moab were corrupt, and judged for 
reward; they perverted justice, and oppressed the poor. For 
this reason they are threatened to be cut off. The established 
laws of nations are but a small defence to men's rights and pri- 
vileges, when covetous persons are judges, or when judges take 
sides with the crown against the subjects. When men of this 
character are hard pressed with statute laws, which make 
against their leading designs, they flee to precedents, and en- 
trench themselves behind the opinions of former judges, who 
have, like themselves, perverted justice, and set aside the law. 
And in case that it should appear too glaring an insult upon 
the constitutional laws of a nation, forjudges to substitute their 
own opinion in the place of standing iaws, it is easy for them to 
prevail with the legislature to repeal some of the old ones, and 
make a new act of parliament for the purpose which they in- 
tend to pursue. There are many instances in history of acts of 
council, and the opinions of judges, being put in the room of 
standing laws. There is an instance in England, which is called 
a Christian nation, and in the reign of James the Second, of 
pious and popish memory, when all the twelve judges, except 
one, gave it as their opinion, * That the King has a power to 
dispense with all laws; and that this power is lnw. That the 
laws are the King's laws. That it is an inseparable prerogative 
of the Kings of England, as of all other sovereign princes, to 
dispense with all penal laws in particular cases, and upon par- 
ticular necessary reasons. That of these reasons and necessities 



lf> NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 

the King is the sole judge. That this is not a trust invested in, 
or granted to the King, but the ancient remains of the sovereign 
power of the Kings of England, which was never yet taken 
from them, nor can be." If this had not been done in a Chris- 
tian land, I should have considered it as the highest insult to 
common sense that possibly could have been offered ; but when 
such an instance of partiality appears to have been practised in 
England, what may we suppose to have been done in Moab, 
where there were no principles of religion to bind the consciences 
of men to do their duty? In England the judges are sworn to 
judge righteously, and cannot pervert the laws, without bringing 
the curse of heaven upon their own heads, which no persons of 
any wisdom would choose to do. But Moabites did not mind 
those matters; they could swear without any meaning, and 
digest oaths as fast as a custom-house officer in England could 
do for his heart. 

Thirdly, the army of Moab was under very strange regulations. 
It was, in the first place, solely under the direction of the crown, 
and called in upon every emergency to enforce the arbitrary 
decisions of the court. Any justice of the peace in the kingdom 
of Moab, when the subjects were hungry and obstreperous, 
could call in a file of musqueteers, and oblige them to endure 
hunger, or stand and be shot like woodcocks. The soldiery of 
Moab, being composed of the dregs of the people, chiefly made 
up of the scouring of jails, and the spewings of counters, consi- 
dered themselves as a distinct people from the rest of the nation, 
and made no scruple to kill the inhabitants, as if they had been 
a foreign enemy. Their officers, who were generally court pen- 
sioners, or expecting to be so, instructed them in all the arbitrary 
maxims of the court, and by flattery and threatenings brought 
them to obey the most sanguinary orders which they gave them ; 
so that they had no compunction when they killed the innocent 
inhabitants of the country, because they believed it to be their 
duty to obey the commands of their officers. The greatest part 
of those who had the command of the military were young, 
wild, unprincipled prodigals, who had been sent to the army for 
reformation ; or needv spendthrifts, who were put in by the 
interest of friends, to eat the bread of the government to keep 
them from starving. As they had given up all moral principles 
before they entered upon their office, they had no pleasure ex- 
cept in persons of their own temper; so that the whole army was 
nothing but a collection of banditti, gathered from among the 
refuse of the people. They were generally cowards in tfme of 
danger, and tyrants when they were out of it. When the sub- 
jects of Moab listed into their army, they became people of a 
quite different character, and were put under a new government- 
Their lives and liberties were at the mercy of arbitrary officers, 
who, for the smallest offence, would punish them with rigour, 
and with unrelenting severity torture them in the cruellest man- 
ner. 



SERMON III. 



if 



tier. Those heathenish military officers considered their men 
as their own goods and chattels, and on many occasions used 
them worse than either their horses or their dogs. Such was 
the state of the military government of Moab in the days of 
Eglon. 

Fourthly, the police of Moab was in a wretched state in the 
reign of this monstrous king. The state of trade, and the prices 
of provisions, were so disproportioned, for want of proper regu- 
lations, that it. was impossible for the trading part of the king.* 
dom to live. At this time the poor were extremely wretched 5 
for all the necessaries of life were rendered systematically dear. 
The labour of men's hands, and what they could gain by in- 
dustry, were incompetent for the supply of nature, and were 
not sufficient to procure what was necessary to support their 
families. What was very remarkable in Moab, in the midst of 
all sorts of improvements in agriculture, the prices of provi- 
sions were exorbitantly high, so that the labour of a man's 
hands was not sufficient to support his family; and, in a great 
abundance of trade and commerce, there was nothing to be 
heard except bankruptcies among the merchants. Whether or 
not this arose from luxury creating laziness, and so inclining 
people to pursue such employments as required little labour, or 
that there were nearly as many sellers as there were buyers in 
the towns in Moab, I will not pretend to say; but it is plain, 
from the whole history of that country, that there were far too 
many engaged in lazy professions. Wine-cellars, gin-shops, 
beer-houses, eating-houses, of all sorts, were within one door of 
each other, over all the cities of Moab. Farmers, who formerly 
wrought at the plough, turned graziers, and dealt in cattle in- 
stead of corn, because it was an easier employment. Millers, 
when they were tired of working, turned meal-sellers, taylors 
excise-officers, gentlemen's servants publicans, weavers tea- 
dealers, and blacksmiths preachers. The whole bent of the 
national disposition was to be idle, and to be gentlemen. The 
women were infected with this distemper as well as the men; 
and those who, in former times, would have been obliged 
to spin, or work in the dairy, learned pastry, or turned milliners 
and mantua-makers. Whence it happened, that the greatest 
part of farmers' daughters could all dress victuals, make gowns 
and head-dresses, but there were few could spin a gown to their 
own backs, or perform the labour necessary in a family. Taus 
all the lazy employments were overstocked, and few engaged in 
laudable industry; from hence it came to pass, that those who 
did labour could get no money, because the others were not able 
to pay them. But we shall hear this story out in the next 
Discourse. 



SERMON 



18 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



SERMON IV. 

Judges, iii. 22. 

And the dirt came out. 

"tN the conclusion of the last Discourse it wa6 promised to 
consider the police of Moab at more length ; and there is 
reason to fear that some impure discoveries will be made in this 
inquiry: but if there is uncleanness within, the dirt will come 
out. It has been observed, that it was a prevailing disposition 
among the Moabites to covet lazy employments; that the poor, 
as well as the rich, were zealous to be gentlemen, and were not 
disposed to labour or work for their livelihood. There was no 
possibility in Moab to settle the balance of trade, or to prevent 
monopoly or engrossing ; for though the laws were expressly 
against these practices, yet there were so many ways of evading 
their force, that they were rendered of no effect. It was a com- 
mon thing in that dirty land for magistrates to promote the 
crimes which the laws were made to restrain and punish. The 
moral and the political laws of Moab were very different, which 
introduced runny errors in their police. The statutes of the 
legislature were frequently contrary to the laws of nature, and 
the first principles of morality. All practices which hurt the 
commonweal, or injure the rights of individuals, are contrary to 
the principles of nature, and the rules of the moral law. Nature 
at first assigned mankind equal portions of necessary things, and 
no man had originally a right to any more than another. When 
men formed themselves into society, they assigned a larger 
dividend of lauds to their leaders and chiefs than to others; but 
for this reason, — that they were to serve the public for this con- 
sideration, without any other fee or reward. Those who dis- 
tinguished themselves by their merit, for the good of the public, 
were in their turn preferred; but still the reward of merit was 
not suffered to injure the common property of society, nor were 
overgrown tyrants suffered to possess whole counties, and make 
whole territories their vassals. Rewards were rather honorary 
than lucrative, and the motives to great achievements were of 
the moral kind. But when corruption and vice crept in, and 
came to an height, the great assumed dominion, and the poor 
sold their rights; from whence sprung up a monstrous inequality 
among men, who were at first nearly equal. Politicians, as soon 
as they perceived the people disposed to submit to slavery, and 
inclined to be bribed out of their property, proceeded to con- 
trive laws to secure to themselves the purchase they had made 



SERMON IV. 



IS 



of other men's possessions; and the more effectually to fulfil 
their intentions, formed statutes to secure the submission of 
those whom they had robbed, as well as their property. Hence 
it was made criminal not to obey oppressors in every arbitrary 
precept, which they thought fit to enjoin the common people. 

The law of morals obliges superiors rather to instruct the 
ignorant vulgar in a just sense and use of their own privileges, 
than through fraud to deceive them, and by power to oppress 
them. For it is easy to perceive, that it is through ignorance 
and want of understanding that men are bribed out of their 
natural rights. Were they carefully instructed in the knowledge 
of their own rights and liberties, they would never sell their 
possessions and rights to tyrants. It proceeded originally from 
fraud and deceit that individuals obtained such large possessions 
and authority in society; and it is observable in the history of 
all nations, that when individuals obtained unequal dividends of 
the wealth of kingdoms, that revolutions were near at hand, 
and national ruin ensued. 

In all nations where there is a landed interest, the security of 
the commonwealth is best maintained by making small and 
numerous dividends; for thereby the greater number will be 
interested in the welfare of a nation. But when only a few 
have a real interest and property in a country, the nerves of 
government must be considerably weakened. The idea of men 
labouring for themselves, though it appears selfish, yet will have 
a greater influence upon their care and diligence, than when they 
consider themselves toiling principally for the interest of others, 
who will employ them no longer than they are fit for their ser- 
vice. It is either possession of property, or the hopes thereof, 
which make men settle in one country more than another; for 
it is not natural for mankind to reside where they have neither 
hopes nor possessions, and have nothing before their eyes, except 
to be slaves or vassals, and to be turned away whenever they are 
found not fit to serve the interest of their masters. 

It is probable that in Moab, their kings, who were arbitrary, 
would give away large portions of land to their peculiar 
favourites, and by that means, in process of time, the nation 
would be shared among a few, and the rest would be vassals to 
those over-grown chiefs. It is natural to infer from this, that 
idleness and laziness would be the consequence with regard to 
the greatest part, who, as they had no idea of interest or property 
of their own, would be indifferent about the concerns of their 
tyrants. 

Men of large estates would endeavour also to suggest to the most 
compliant and powerful of their vassals the idea of large farms, 
that they might have some persons to confide in, to carry on the 
designs of their ambition. By engrossing farms, and dispos- 
sessing families of those appointments which they had shared 
upon the same tenure, and in common with others in the same 

situation, 



20 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



situation, it is natural to suppose that the ancient tenants be- 
hoved either to be servants to those who were formerly their 
equals, or seek employment in some other place, and in another 
condition of life. They could not all be servants to the new 
engrossers, because they would have no need of them ; for it ia 
plain, from experien-ce, that when lands are classed together, 
and formed systematically, they may be wrought with fewer ser- 
vants, and at a less expence. What must then have been the 
consequence? The old country peasants would be obliged to 
retire to towns, and seek to support their families in some new 
employment. Trade at first sight has a flattering aspect; money 
appears to come in easily, and tradesmen appear to be gentle- 
men : but then it ought to be considered that the number of 
sellers ought to be proportioned to the number of buyers, other- 
wise a tradesman may soon have his shop full, but his purse 
empty. When the people in the country bring their provision* 
to large towns to sell, and carry away with them a proportional 
quantity of the merchandise of the shops, they both serve them- 
selves and the merchants; but when they are forced, by en- 
grossers of land, to retire to cities and towns to traffic in those 
employments which they formerly assisted in as buyers only, 
they must in a short time hurt business, and ruin both them- 
selves and others. The greater quantity of merchandise there is 
purchased and carried out of towns, there will always be the 
greater advantage to trade in those places; but when the police 
of a nation obliges the inhabitants to overstock those branches 
of business which are not essential to life, it will always issue 
in the ruin of trade, and the country in process of time will be 
depopulated. 

This dirty land of Moab suffered prodigiously in its internal 
principles by the practice of monopolizing of lands; for though 
the quantity of the necessaries of life were not decreased, the 
profits arising from them were restrained to a few. The money 
which formerly was distributed into many purses by the selling 
of corn and cattle, was now confined in the hands of a few en- 
grossers, who, as they had not so much occasion to lay out their 
money as a multitude had* so were less serviceable to other 
branches of business, and did less good to the community. 

Before the practice of engrossing farms was practised in 
Moab, the farmers were obliged to make their money circulate, 
to supply their families with necessary things, and were not able 
to hoard it up; but when ten or a dozen of farms had but one 
or two families to support, the farmers were able to lay up their 
cash in banks, which became so much dead stock to the com- 
munity. 

When there is a just proportion in the strength of a body, and 
the parts kept in their proper size, it will be more likely to be 
healthy, than when some parts are overgrown, and other parU 
decayed and wasted. It never can be the interest of a nation 

to 



SERMON IV. 



to admit of a great disproportion among the ranks of its in- 
habitants; and the best method to support a necessary pro- 
portion of this sort will be to avoid the introduction of practices 
which destroy it. There is no other way of accomplishing this, 
but by establishing statute laws upon moral principles. Ac- 
cording to the spirit of moral laws, it is as sinful for a rich man 
to take a poor man's farm over his head, as it is for a strong man 
to take a weak man's purse, because he is stronger than he. It 
is a fundamental maxim in morals, that as we would that men 
should do to us, so we should do to them in the like circum- 
stances; and no statute laws are just which contradict this 
maxim. As there are express statutes against stealing and 
robbery, so, according to the spirit of the moral law, and the 
iirst principles of natural religion, there ought to be statutes 
against ever^ practice whereby one man injures another. 

It may perhaps be alleged, that a landholder has a right to 
dispose of his possessions, or let his farms to the best advantage. 
If he was not a member of a community, he certainly would have 
none but himself to care for; but as every landholder is a mem- 
ber of a public, he is bound by the laws of society to mind its 
interest, as well as his own; and if there are strong symptoms of 
self in individuals, there ought to be laws to restrain it. If it 
shall be affirmed, that raising of rents excites to improvement, — 
there is truth in this; but there is no occasion upon this score to 
suffer one man to injure another by secretly betraying him. There 
is no reason to suppose, that one man will improve ten farms 
better than ten men, when it is their interest to improve them 
as well as he. 

All that can be said in behalf of the land owner is, that he 
saves himself a little trouble, at the expence of the community ; 
he receives his rents from one hand, and is not troubled to seek 
them from more quarters than one; and, provided he receives 
his money, he is indifferent if the commonwealth go to the devil. 
Such principles and practices are fit for the meridian of Moab, 
but appear ugly in any Christian land. 

The Romans, in the time of the commonwealth, were careful 
that none should monopolize too great a quantity of land; and, 
to prevent it, made several good laws, which, had they been 
made in a Christian republic, would have been attributed to the 
alliance between church and state. By the Licinian law, made 
in the two hundred and seventy-seventh year ab urbe conditd, 
no person was allowed to possess above five hundred acres of 
land. This law was afterwards confirmed by the Sempronian 
law, which enjoined that all persons who held more land than 
that law allowed should immediately resign it into the common, 
to be divided among the poorer citizens. The intention of this 
law was to restrain the avarice of the rich men of the city, who 
had, by degrees, contrived to engross almost all the land to 

E themselves. 



22 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



themselves. This law occasioned great tumults, and cost Sem<* 
pronius his life. 

The inventions concerning doing a great quantity of work with 
few hands, may well be supposed to have added to the griev- 
ances of Moab ; for though these inventions tended to enrich 
individuals, they were the means of impoverishing the public. 
If one man is able to perform as much business as ten, what 
must the rest do ? Every patent for improvement of this sort, is 
a privilege to destroy so many people, and tends to depopulate a 
nation; unless there were also a law that the advantages of the 
contrivance should be distributed among those whom it injures, 
and then it would tend to the good of society. He who keeps a 
machine ivhich works ten men's work, should be obliged to pro- 
vide for nine of them; otherwise he is guilty of robbery, and de~ 
serves to be punished. 

In the land of Moab there was nothing common but w ?esv 

Every inch of ground was claimed by some engrosser, and th© 
cautious surveyor marked out every common, which formerly 
was as free as the light of the sun and the air. This could not 
miss to have a bad effect upon the minds of the people, as it 
tended immediately to distress them. From a pretence of im- 
proving waste and common lands, the grandees of Moab obtained 
laws to have them divided ; but then those who had no estates 
joining to those commons received no dividend, and were de- 
prived of the means of support which naturally belonged to 
them. The idea of a common suggests at once that it belongs 
to all within the district, and cannot be divided, without giving 
every one his proper share. The original design of commons 
was, that those who had no separate lands of their own, might 
have a common estate with so many others; and formerly, it is 
highly probable, that every township had a common which was 
the poor man's estate, as well as that of the rich. Moab never 
had a day to do well after the covetous landlords monopolized 
the common lands. The legislature in Moab might as well have 
made a law for the rich to divide their estates with the poor, as 
to have made acts of parliament to oblige the poor to part with 
a privilege to which they had a prescriptive right. The claims 
of freedom and liberty ended with the division of commons. There 
was no reason why the Duke of Heshhon should have had a 
larger share of the common than his tay lor or shoemaker. His 
lands lying contiguous gave him no just right. I doubt much 
if justice intended him the smallest share: he could only obtain 
a part thereof by oppression. All these dirty things shew that 
the police in Moab was very imperfect. 

The intention of public markets is to give those who want the 
necessaries of life an opportunity to have them at the first hand, 
without being advanced by retailers or regraters. B t this in- 
tention was frustrated in Moab; for in the markets of Kenoth 
and Heshbon^ the sellers were not obliged to sell any quantity 



SERMON IV. 



23 



but what tbey pleased, and were sure never to sell their com- 
modities to many hands, provided they could find one person to 
purchase the whole. By this means the poor inhabitants were 
obliged to purchase the necessaries of life at the second, third, 
or fourth hand, which enhanced the price, and tended to keep 
the markets high; so that between the landlords, fanners, corn- 
merchants, and petty retailers, the prices of provisions were kept 
high in the midst of plenty, to the utter ruin of every other 
branch of business and manufacture. What dirty work was 
this! Ah, Moab! thy punishment was just when thou wast 
destroyed ! the cries of the poor, the needy, and fatherless, 
brought down the vengeance of heaven upon thee; — thou art 
now no more ; — thy sins have ruined thee, and oppression hath 
devoured the oppressor. 

But Britain may rejoice, and congratulate herself in her happy 
situation. Nothing, except mercy, judgment, and faith, abounds 
over all the land. For here, in this land of righteousness, the 
nobles, barons, and 'squires, commmit no acts of oppression, by 
squeezing their dependents; their tenants complain of no ad- 
vauced rents, and, on that account, are uuder no necessity to use 
indirect means to pay them. They have no occasion to join with * 
corn merchants to keep up the markets, because they hold their 
farms at a reasonable expence, and can bring all their goods 
regularly to market. No engrossing, forestalling, or regrating, 
are necessary in this plentiful island ; nor are the people disposed 
to this wicked practice. The millers are patterns of honesty, 
and the farmers examples of humility. But before I proceed 
fart&er, 1 shall give my readers a rest, and say, Amen. 



SERMON V. 

Judges, iii. 22, 

And the dirt came out, 

IT is an unfair practice carried on in all heathen countries, that 
the general rules of police are all made against the poor ; 
and the reason seems to be, that it is a rare thing to find a poor 
man in authority. Though a poor person may sometimes save 
a city, it will not procure him credit among the rich- his 
good deeds will soon be forgotten, and himself no more remem- 
bered. 

Wisdom has but a little share in the management of nations,; 

and, 



24 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



and, as a proof thereof, when one would think them in the fairest 
way to do well, they are ordinarily nearest their ruin. The 
Assyrian, Persian, and Roman empires, are evident proofs of this 
assertion; for when they were at the height of their splendour, 
they came to nought for the want of wisdom. Whether great 
riches and much wisdom are incompatible in a nation, I will not 
pretend to say; but it appears manifest, that the fewest wise 
men have always been found in kingdoms where there have been 
the most wealth and the greatest splendour. 

I would not willingly say an hard thing of a Christian nation ; 
but there are some who will affirm, that there never were more 
riches in Britain, nor greater splendour; and will add, that there 
never were so many fools. Folly in Moab was not much to be 
thought of ; because there were no Christian teachers to instruct 
them in the principles of wisdom. They had all their know- 
ledge to learn from observation and experience, which requires 
a long time to make men proficients. But in nations like Great 
Britain and France, where the Christian religion is professed, 
there is no occasion to wait so long for a perfect understanding 
of the principles of wisdom. Tutors, and persons appointed by 
authority, instil into the minds of men at first hand what would 
take twenty years to learn by observation and experience. 

There is nothing more important for mankind to know than 
the articles of religion, which are necessary for every one to be- 
lieve. In Christian nations men are not left to follow their own 
judgment, which is often ready to mislead them, but are tutored 
in the true faith by the clergy from their very infancy. If men 
were obliged to read over the Scriptures before they were to 
determine what form of religion they would choose, it is mani- 
fest, that one-half of their days would be spent before they had 
any religion at all; but when a form of godliness is ready pre- 
pared for them, they' have nothing to do but to embrace it, or 
if necessity requires, to subscribe it, and then they will pass for 
very good Christians; which is all that is needful for any man to 
reap from the present advantages of religion. 

But in heathenish kingdoms the clergy are not at the pains to 
relieve the common people from the trouble of manufacturing 
their own faith; but suffer them to grow wise by inquiry, and 
to attain to understanding by seeking knowledge in the weary 
and toilsome paths of experience. This appears to have been 
the reason why there were so many different opinions in Moab, 
and other Pagan countries, concerning religion; for it does not 
appear that any establishment of a church was thought upon till 
the Christian emperors happened to dream of it. 

It was a manifest defect in the police of Moab, that religion 
was not considered as a part of the constitution, but left to every 
man's own choice; for though this was favourable to sin- 
cerity, it was no ways serviceable to the police of the nation, 
which is always to be supposed to be intended to render it 

splendid 



SERMON V. 



splendid and glorious. If sincerity was suffered to prevail in any 
nation, it would soon overturn all the rules of policy which exist 
in any kingdom of this world at this present time; and if thrs 
was the case, what would become of courtiers, bishops, and minis* 
ters of state? It appears to be one solid reason why all learned 
men in England are first taught to prevaricate with God Al- 
mighty, by subscribing what they do not understand or believe, 
that they are chiefly intended to be politicians in either church 
or state, and are therefore obliged to learn early what is neces- 
sary to qualify them for their respective stations. This, I con- 
ceive, may be a sufficient vindication of the two universities, 
with regard to their obliging boys to subscribe the Thirty-nine 
Articles of the church. Hereby they are taught in the early 
period of their lives to consider religion as serviceable to their 
worldly interest; and when they grow old, this sentiment does 
not readily depart from them. 

In Moab there was no such wisdom discovered in the method 
of instructing youth, and this must have been the reason why 
there were so few good politicians in those days. A dry since- 
rity, and blunt simplicity, could never render a man fit to make 
a figure in any church or commonwealth that was ever yet esta- 
blished by law. In England and Scotland, where there are legal 
establishments of religion, men are early initiated in the princi- 
ples of church and state policy, and are qualified to make a figure 
when it comes to their turn. This is an advantage which a 
Christian has above a Moabite. 

It is but a dirty situation that a nation is in, when rewards 
are not suited to services. In Moab, though a man should have 
happened to have sold his conscience, and betrayed his consti- 
tuents, yet the compensation was small, because the government 
was arbitrary, and the King's word was a law. But in Great 
Britain the case is otherwise ; for if any man happen to stretch a 
point in a matter of conscience, or sell his constituents, he may 
have ample compensation, and be richly rewarded with either a 
place or a pension. Here a man does not sell his soul for no- 
thing; if he is a religious man, he may be preferred in the 
church; and if he intends to live a secular life, he may be ex- 
alted in the state, and take his venture at the day of judgment. 
When motives to action are double, they must have a strong 
influence upon obedience ; and he who has both a temporal and 
spiritual kingdom in his view, must have stronger springs of 
action than he who has but one of them. This is, perhaps, the 
reason why bishops are more holy than other men, because they 
are influenced with the promises of the life that now is, as well 
as that which is to come. 

It was a great infelicity which befel the people of Moab, and 
which at last enslaved them,— that individuals seldom considered 
themselves as any way interested with the common welfare of their 
country, provided their own temporal interest was well sup- 
ported. 



2(3 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



ported. Though national grievances were great, and oppression 
exercised with much rigour, yet those who were not oppressed 
themselves, but enjoyed the favour of the great, looked with 
indifference upon the situation of their fellow-subjects. Before 
Moab came under the dominion of absolute monarchy, there was 
a national senate, the members of which were elected by the 
people, to take care of their interests in parliament. This was 
a great privilege, and ought never to have been given up. But 
when public virtue declined, this privilege was insensibly taken 
out of the hands of the people, with their own consent. Instead 
of choosing men to represent them, who were fit and worthy of 
being trusted, they made choice of persons who bought their places 
in parliament, with a design to sell their constituents upon a pro- 
per occasion. 

Men, who studied to corrupt the people, were not likely 
to support their privileges; and people who sold themselves 
for money could not be long free. The consequence was, all 
men became venal, and at last sold their liberties to the crown, 
and despotism was established by their own consent. Moab, 
from being a free nation, through corruption, became a king- 
dom of slaves; and though it long retained the form of its 
ancient constitution, the subjects were in reality as much slaves 
as in the days of Eglon : for whatever the court desired, the 
parliament granted, and the crown had power to carry any point. 
"When the chiefs of the nation found the people ripe for slavery, 
they threw off the mask, discontinued parliaments, set up courts 
of justice without juries, and ruled the nation with a rod of iron. 
All this proceeded from the want of national virtue, and the 
depravity of the people ; who forgot their own interests as mem- 
bers of a community, through an attachment to their own pri- 
vate interests as individuals. This has been the ruin of all 
nations, and shall be more particularly considered in the next 
discourse. 



SERMON VI, 

Judges, iii. 22. 
And the dirt came out. 

CORRUPTION, when it once enters among individuals, ope- 
rates gradually, till it produces national ruin; it gathers to 
an height at last, and the dirt comes out. The decline of virtue, 
and the downfal of nations, have always kept pace with one 

another. 



SERMON VI. 



another, 'they have indeed appeared most flourishing and 
splendid when vice abounded; but the basis of government 
generally grows weak as its splendour increases. Nations are 
like trees; they make the greatest shew when they flourish in 
trade, luxury, and riches; but they are then weakest, and have 
least vital strength. Riches and selfishness ordinarily are united^ 
or if this does not happen, dissipation attends riches; the natural 
consequence of which is indifference about commonweal. 

When the minds of men are corrupted by selfishness, indivi- 
duals look no farther than their own private interest; when they 
are depraved by luxury, they extend their views no farther than 
sensual gratification. From these two sources all national evils 
proceed. It is from the first of these that commonweal is ex- 
posed to sale, by men who know no other pleasures than what 
flow from riches; for the sake of their own family concerns, 
they will expose a whole nation to sale. It is from the latter, 
that both public and private interest are ruined. 

Luxury ordinarily produces dissipation and licentiousness, and 
creates appetites that are not natural to men, which, as they are 
unnatural in themselves, and proceed from causes hurtful to 
society, are in their whole operations destructive to commonweal. 
According as people abound in unnatural desires, they will 
deviate from the paths of virtue to have them fulfilled ; and 
this I take to be the reason why the freeholders in Britain, who 
have no expectation of being highly preferred, take bribes from 
men whom they know are no friends to their country, and give 
them their votes at a general election. The unnatural desires 
of having what nature does not need, nor reason allow, makes 
them sell their best things to satisfy their immediate feelings. 

The above observations may be illustrated from facts which 
appear every day. It is not natural for men to eat or drink any 
more than is sufficient to support their constitution ; and yet we 
jsee many who contract unnatural habits of gluttony and drunk- 
enness, which tend to destroy it, and will sell their best things 
to satisfy their appetites. Upon the same principles that a man 
sells his clothes to fulfil his desires, he will sell his country, or 
the most sacred things that pertain to him. It is impossible for 
the legislature to prevent corruption in the state, till means are 
devised to restrain dissipation. As long as it is no felony to 
keep whores and get drunk, it will be in vain to talk of putting 
a stop to bribery. A thirsty man will give any thing for a 
drink; and the more unnatural the cause, the thirst will be the 
stronger. When the Romans were virtuous, whoredom was 
severely punished; but when they were corrupted, it passed 
unnoticed. 

The means of unnatural gratifications ought certainly to be 
restrained when they hurt the community, otherwise it will be 
impossible to maintain the rational liberty of a people. As 
long as it is fashionable to indulge loose desires without dis- 
grace, 



58 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



grace, men will covet the means which usually obtain them ; 
and when those desires become habitual, their strength will 
increase, and make them covet a greater gratification. When 
this is the case, the means of procurement must be enlarged also, 
which will incline them to dispose of the readiest things they 
can find to obtain the objects of their desires. We may observe 
in experience, that, from a principle of vanity, or from a desire 
of appearing gay, a man will dispose of his estate for the sake 
of fine clothes; and to obtain an impure momentary gratification, 
a lascivious person will dispose of those necessary things which 
would both relieve his necessities, and contribute to his honour. 

Let us suppose that the interests of a man's country, and the 
unnatural desires proceeding from his dissipation, should come 
in competition; he will be ready to answer the strongest feeling, 
and pursue the habit which has the strongest ascendant over 
him. A person under the dominion of selfish or lascivious 
feelings, which have been unnaturally created by tasting for- 
bidden pleasures, will always find a stronger propensity towards 
enjoyment than in ordinary cases; the reason is, unnatural de- 
sires are the most violent. From hence it may be observed, that 
none except virtuous men can be true patriots. When the 
springs of action in hypocritical patriots are discovered, it will 
appear that the love of their country was least in their view. 
It is as impossible for a vicious person to be a patriot, as for a 
libidinous man to be chaste. Self-denial is a virtue essentially 
necessary in a true lover of his country; for he must give up 
his own private interest for the good of the community, if he 
means to deserve the name of a patriot. 

When the generality of people are not willing to part with 
their unnatural pleasures, a nation must infallibly be near its 
ruin. What I mean by unnatural pleasures is, all those adventi- 
tious desires, and their gratifications, which our nature does not 
prompt us to. Nature does not dictate to any person, that 
he should lie, steal, murder, or commit fornication ; on the other 
hand, she has provided remedies against them. The dictates of 
the mind are naturally against all injustice, either with respect 
to ourselves or others; it requires a great perversion of soul for 
men to have the better of their consciences. 

Vicious men frequently consider animal impulse to be the 
voice of nature; and with regard to beasts, it is true. But there 
is more belongs to the nature of man than mere appetite. He 
is endowed with reason and conscience, which are intended to 
regulate his animal feelings; and when he does not listen to the 
voice of reason, he acts unnaturally. Though if is natural for 
all other animals to follow the impulse of their appetites, it is 
not so in man ; for he never acts according to nature, but when 
all his feelings are under the government of his reason and under- 
standing. By attributing all our deviations from virtue to our 
nature, we father all the evil in our conduct upon our Maker, 



SERMON VI. 



29 



and make him the author of sin. Though it is natural for man 
to propagate his own species, yet he is by nature placed under a 
moral government in so doing; otherwise he differs nothing 
from a beast. Men who follow the impulse of appetite, and 
ramble through scenes of dissipation, contrary to the dictates 
of reason and conscience, are guilty of the violation of the laws 
of nature, and ought to be considered as lunatics^ and be put 
under the direction of keepers. 

Those vices which we ourselves are not so much addicted 
to we are ready to consider as the most unnatural, and at- 
tended with the highest aggravations; but we are ready to 
forget that all sin is unnatural. It is as much contrary to nature 
for a man to seduce another man's wife, as it is to break his 
house and steal his goods; and it is as much contrary to the 
moral dictates of the understanding to rob a young woman of 
her chastity, as it is to rob a young man of his money; and yet 
men plead nature for the one, and account the other unnatural. 
It is something more than probable, that if men would listen to 
the dictates of their rational nature, and begin in due time to 
curb their appetites, that they would find no more inclination 
to one vice than another, and would have no apologies to make 
for any sin. It is an observation of an heathen historian, " That 
when a man, inclined to sensual gratifications, gives himself up 
to idleness and impure bodily pleasures, after having for a time 
indulged himself in libidinous practices, and having, through, 
want of consideration, wasted his strength and time, he accuses 
the infirmity of his nature."* 

This was the case of the Romans, when luxury and profligacy 
was come to a great height; and is ordinarily the case with all 
people under the same circumstances. Nature is blamed, when 
it is only the habits which men have acquired that are the cause 
of their errors. 

Nothing can be more dirty and vile, than to impute our crimes 
to our nature, which is no ways to blame. By the same rules 
and for the same reasons that a man repents of a crime, he might 
have avoided it. If he repents of it because he perceives it an 
evil in itself, he might have seen that before he committed it; 
for the law was as plain before as after. If he only repents of 
it because it hurts him, he is no true penitent, and has no aver- 
sion to vice. Men who have no aversion to folly till they are 
not able to commit it, stand a great chance never to repent; for 
the want of power will not remove the inclination, and while 
the inclination remains, the person is much the same as he was 
before. The community may have the advantage of his want 
of power, but his moral character is the same. 



• Captus pravis cupidinibus ad inertiarn et voluptatis corporis pessnm datus 
est; perniciosa lubidine paulisper usus; ubi per secordiarjn vires, tempus, 
ingenium defluxere. nature inlinnitas accusatur, Sallust. 

F In 



30 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



In the land of Moab the principles of morality were not 
taught and inculcated upon the subjects. Improvements there 
were all of another sort. The mathematics, natural history, 
agriculture, poetry, and the fine arts, seem to have been studied; 
but the science of morals was totally neglected. This was a 
great misfortune to the people, who were left ignorant of the 
true principles of right and wrong, and were not able to dis- 
tinguish between the errors of their own choice, and the in- 
firmities of nature. 

Mathematics, and the other sciences, though they are useful 
studies, and tend greatly to enlarge the human mind, yet have 
not in general a great influence upon the hearts of those who are 
the greatest adepts in those sciences. For men who pretend to 
study nature, and are acquainted with physical principles, to 
behave unnaturally, is highly absurd ; and yet there are so many 
facts to confirm this, that it is impossible to deny it. 

If morality were studied with as much assiduity, it would 
infallibly mend the heart, and dispose men to behave wisely and 
soberly. Pythagoras, Leusippus, Democritus, Anaximander, and 
all the rest of the tribe of natural philosophers, were far from 
doing so much good to mankind as Socrates, nor were any of 
them so good men; which, though it does not prove their 
science to be bad, yet declares that it is not so useful for reforming 
the heart as the science of morals. Pride and vanity ordinarily 
attend the knowledge of things; but the knowledge of God and 
ourselves has an immediate tendency to keep men humble. 

It is not much to be wondered at, that morality was not taught 
nor practised in the land of Moab; for some Christian nations 
are very deficient in this respect. Even Great Britain is not re- 
markable for the knowledge and improvement in morals. The 
lands are wonderfully improved of late years, and there have 
been great improvements in arts and manufactures; but the 
minds of the inhabitants have grown worse instead of better. 
The very mode of education is quite altered from what it was 
in former times ; the principal education which is now bestowed 
upon youth is to make them appear like gentlemen and ladies, 
instead of teaching them to deserve well of the public. It may 
truly be said, that their bodies are taken care of, but their minds 
are neglected. When young people are not acquainted with 
those obligations they are under to the community, they neces- 
sarily turn selfish, and look upon themselves as the chief object 
of all their own concerns, — that the community was made for 
them, and not they for the community. 

The notions of friendship, which we read of, that prevailed 
among ancient people, are not regarded, nor the importance 
thereof recommended as it ought to be. Instead of friendship 
in its proper sense, we have received a substitute, which is the 
very bane of society, and that is dissimulation. This is prac- 
tised in its full extent over the whole nation; so that a person 

who 



SERMON VI. 



31 



who speaks as he thinks, and utters the real sentiments of his 
heart as a friend, is accounted a very ill-bred man, and not fit 
to be admitted into genteel company. Morality requires that 
all persons speak according to truth, and express the real 
thoughts of their hearts without disguise. The true cause of 
all divisions and mischiefs among men proceed in a great degree 
from dissimulation; for after they have acted in feigned charac- 
ters towards one another, and come at last to be discovered, it 
raises endless suspicions and animosities, which it is impossible 
to remove without a manifest proof of sincerity, which is incom- 
patible with the principles of men of that character. 

Persons of the same profession, and on the same side of a 
question, instead of that open simplicity which becomes friends 
{and which among honest men will receive the highest approba- 
tion), observe a sort of caution and reserve, which is not con- 
sistent with honesty or true friendship. Among politicians this 
is called prudence ; but among good men it is accounted cun- 
ning. It is inconsistent with true morality to keep a reserve 
among friends ; audit argues the want of real friendship where 
it is practised. Among Moabites it might be tolerable, but 
among Christians it is an abomination. Among Christians it 
never can happen; for whoever is destitute of simplicity and 
openness, is no Christian according to the New Testament sense 
of the word. All heathen nations have been ruined by riches 
and luxury, as well as Moab ; but perhaps it would be thought 
to be an unfair method of reasoning to infer, that the same thing 
would happen to any Christian kingdom. For though as great 
vices are practised in some Christian countries, as ever were 
practised among the Romans, yet they perhaps may be saved by 
their faith. If this is not the case, I can see no advantage this 
nation obtains by the Thirty-nine Articles; for if the inhabitants 
of Britain at this day are not saved by their faith, there is not 
a sufficient quantity of good works in the whole island to save 
them. 

The good works of Britain are something like those of Rome, 
in the time of the Jugurthine war: " The nobility turned their 
dignity, the people their liberty, into licentiousness. All things 
were divided between the two parties, and the commonwealth 
w r as torn to pieces between them. The faction on the side of 
the nobility was the most powerful; the people being divided 
among themselves weakened their own party. A few had the 
direction of all things, both at home and abroad. The treasury, 
the government of provinces, honours, and triumphs, were in 
the power of the same persons; the people were oppressed with 
war and poverty. The generals divided the spoils of war among 
a few of their friends, and distributed the prize-money among; 
their favourites. The parents and children of those who had 
served in the wars were driven from their possessions by haughty 
noblemen, whose avarice knew no bounds, and paid no regard 

to 



32 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



to any thing, whether civil or sacred. It proceeded so far as 
to hurl all things into confusion. The few of the nobility who 
at first opposed the measures of the rest were borne down by 
faction, and the commonwealth was torn asunder as by an 
earthquake."* 

This account of the Roman state given by Sallust very much 
resembles the present state of Great Britain. It is at best a dirty 
description, but it is exceedingly just. But as I intend in the 
next Discourse to consider the doctrine of national uncleanness, 
I shall conclude this Sermon. 



SERMON VII, 

Judges, iii. 22. 
And the dirt came out. 

NATIONAL character may be considered with regard to the 
religion and the morals of the inhabitants. When the re- 
ligion of mankind renders them cunning, designing, and sus- 
picious, it argues the real want of truth in their hearts; for 
charity, which thinketh no evil, assumes no disguise, and avoids 
all suspicion, unless upon the most palpable evidence. A mask 
of religion, where there is no truth in the heart, is a very dirty 
thing, and worthy only of abandoned wretches, who turn all 
things either into the service of their interest, or the gratifica- 
tion of their appetites. Some men profess Christianity for the 
love of money ; such as Bishops, who do not believe the gospel, 
and yet are tenacious of the articles of the church; and pen- 
sioners, who take the sacrament merely to qualify themselves for 
their office. 

Infidelity among the clergy, and dissipation among persons in 
high life, will always soon corrupt a whole nation; for when 

* Ita omnia in duas partes abstracta sunt, respublica quas media fuerat, 
dilacerata. Ceterum nobilitas factione magis poilebat; plebis vis soluta atque 
dispersa in multitudine minus poterat, paucorum arbitrio belli domique respub- 
lica agitabatur : penes eosdem a;rarium provincial magistrates glorias trium- 
phique erant. Populus militia atque inopia urgebatur: prasdas bellicas impera- 
tores cum paucis diripiebant. Interea parentes aut parvi liberi miiitum, uli 
quisque potemiori confinis erat, sedibus pellebantur. Ita cum potentia avaritia 
sine modo modestiaque invadere polluere et vastare omnia nihil pensi neque sancti 
habere quo ad semel ipsa prsecipitavit. Nam ubi primum ex nobilitatc reperti 
sunt, qui veram gloriam injustag potential anteponerent ; moveri civitas et drs- 
s,ensio civilis, quasi permixtio terras, oriri caepit. 

Sallustii Bellum Jugukthinum. 

the 



sermon vir. 



33 



the lower ranks of people perceive that their religious teachers 
make use of sacred things as tools to temporal advantage, they 
are ready to consider all the duties of religion as matters wholly 
calculated ,o serve private interest. Upon this principle they 
consider it to he lawful for them to make the same use of godli- 
ness that their teachers do. Their reasoning is undoubtedly 
false; but they learn this infidel sophistry from the clergy, whom 
they see constantly practise it. Duty and interest are joined 
together in the New Testament in another manner; for the 
maxim is, " He that will not work shall not eat " But in Moab, 
and some other parts of the world, this rule is reversed; and 
those who work not eat all, and those who labour hard are 
destitute of the necessaries of life. Persons of any discernment 
cannot help observing, that this is inconsistent with reason; and 
as it is the practice of men who deal principally in religion, 
they are ready to determine that religion is an unreasonable 
thing, and for this reason give it up. The clergy, in this case, 
are the authors of infidelity, and by their example make infi- 
dels of the people. 

When this species of Deism is prevalent in a national charac- 
ter, it destroys all confidence among men; for persons who are 
once accustomed to consider religion as a policy will practise 
other matters in the same way. It is from this cause that men 
sell their country, and betray their friends; when once they 
proceed so far as to think sacred things venal, they will not hesi- 
tate to make merchandise of all other things. Bribery and 
bankruptcies proceed from this cause: men first become accus- 
tomed to attempt to impose upon the Deity, and deceive them- 
selves, and after that have no remorse in cheating one another. 
It is impossible that men can have any moral principles, who 
behave unworthily towards the Deity, or who have not moral 
excellence in their view; for though penal laws may restrain 
them from doing things which tend to their own hurt, yet as 
soon as fear is removed, there is no check upon them. 

When the inferior ranks of mankind observe, that learned 
men, and persons who go foremost in religious offices, can buy 
and sell them as others do land and cattle, they soon come to 
determine that there is no difference, and behave accordingly. 
When venality and corruption is predominant in the ecclesiastic 
system of any nation, it will not be long before it become an 
universal character; It must be indeed allowed, that in such 
established systems of religious policy as those in Great Bri- 
tain it is impossible to avoid corruption ;, for as they are all 
founded upon the perversion of divine revelation, they can have 
no tendency to promote morality. But this is undoubtedly an 
unclean circumstance in the character of a nation, when the very 
thing which ought to keep it pure immediately tends to corrupt 
it. The passions and appetites of men have only two things 
which can be proper checks to their irregular sallies; and these 

are, 



34 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



are, religion and penal laws. If the sense of the first is once re- 
moved from the minds of men, they will find a thousand methods 
to evade the latter. When the principles of the gospel are incul- 
cated and believed, they teach men to deny all worldly lusts and 
affections, and make them act from principles of love to truth 
and goodness. Under this influence no person will do an un- 
worthy thing; though he might do it with impunity, he consi- 
ders it as vile, and therefore will not do it. 

Penal laws may lop off some corrupt branches, but the root of 
error will still remain, unless it is purged away by the influence 
and power of religion. It is the real want of true religion which 
is the source of all the present defects of national character in the 
world. There would be little necessity for such a multitude of 
penal laws, provided there was as much pains used to promote 
true godliness, as there is frequently used to restrain vice, upon 
wrong principles. The source of corruption rests in the church ; 
for if her doctrine and policy were according to divine revelation, 
they would prevent those impure and dirty practices which pre- 
vail over many nations. 

In this nation the very teachers of godliness are, from their 
first setting out, initiated in dissimulation; and, for the sake of 
wealth, honour, or preferment, subscribe articles of faith that 
few of them believe, and seldom or never teach. This is no 
secret, and the laity know it exceedingly well. They therefore 
reason in their own behalf, from the practice of the clergy, that, 
seeing their teachers behave hypocritically with God, they may 
do the same thing with a less degree of criminality. What has 
often been attributed to luxury and dissipation, among the lower 
ranks of men, is really occasioned by their infidelity ; for if they 
believed that there was any truth in religion, they would avoid 
luxury, and pursue temperance. It is because men first forget 
God that they do evil ; caelum ipsum petimus stultitia. All the 
complaints concerning the national debt, taxes, and burdens 
upon the subjects, proceed from a cause which few ever consi- 
der: the growth of infidelity is the reason of all these evils. 
The Bishops set the example, and all religious characters follow 
them. It is amazing that there should be such a profession of 
religion amongst all ranks, when the very source thereof is 
infidelity, and yet the truth of this assertion is easily demon- 
strated. F do not mean that a great number profess Deism, 
but they do worse, they practise it. Can there be a worse spe- 
cies of infidelity, than to profess God, and in works to deny him ? 
And is it not a denying of God, to reject the plain rules of his 
word concerning the form, doctrine, and discipline of his church; 
to aspire to power and preferment upon the ruins of truth and 
uprightness; to mingle those things which God has separated, 
and unite the splendour of the kingdoms of this world with the 
simplicity of the religion of Jesus Christ; to subscribe articles 
of religion, and preach doctrines altogether opposite thereto? 



SERMON VII. 



33 



If there is not truth in what has been now affirmed, the modern 
sermons of the Bishops and their clergy have no meaning, and 
the articles have no signification. Nothing, except heart infi- 
delity, can determine learned men, for the sake of temporal 
advantages, to sacrifice conscience, truth, and honesty. For 
who can be persuaded that a man, with his eye upon the enjoy- 
ments of a better life, would behave so deceitfully with both 
God and man, as to engage to perform services which he never 
intended to fulfil, and to believe doctrines which he did not un- 
derstand, and are in their own nature absurd? 

The dissipation of persons of high life always proceeds from a 
defect in their religious principles ; I mean not those of which 
they make some profession, but those which ought to be springs 
of action in their hearts, or real principles of faith in the mind. 
For it is impossible that men of understanding could wilfully and 
openly transgress divine precepts, provided they believed that 
there was any truth in religion. If ministers of state were per- 
suaded in their own minds, that there was a state of rewards 
and punishments in the world to come, they would be afraid to 
embezzle the public finances, lest they should be called to an 
account, when the sovereign, instead of screening them from pu- 
nishment, or covering their iniquity, will expose their villainy, 
and render strict justice to every one. 

Every attempt to injure the public is an insult upon God Al- 
mighty, and deserves a severe punishment, which must, if God is 
just, be inflicted upon all obstinate oppressors. A persuasion of 
the moral justice of the Almighty, and that he is obliged in cha- 
racter to bring guilty offenders to a trial, either in this life or the 
next, would effectually prevent persons of power and authority 
from injuring the public. This shews how necessary it is to 
have the principles of religion inculcated upon the minds of men 
intended for high offices. As long as men are truly religious 
they will never turn dissipated; and every approach to dissipa- 
tion is a remove farther from the belief of Christianity. 

When infidelity is the leading portrait of national character, 
there is no species of iniquity which men will be afraid of; and 
when there is an universal dissipation, it is a sure sign of pre- 
vailing unbelief. It is a fact too palpable to be denied, that 
whatever profession of regard persons in high life pay to the 
national religion, they lay no weight upon the principles of 
Christianity, otherwise they would be as zealous in promoting 
mercy, judgment, and faith, as they are in pursuing the plea- 
sures of sense, and the forbidden enjoyments of irregular appe- 
tites. To proftss a form of religion is consistent enough with 
infidelity in practice, and the private sentiments of infidels, who, 
as they account- matters of true religion of no other use or im- 
portance than to serve their private worldly interest, think it no 
crime to profess it for that purpose. 

In France all ranks of people are obliged to profess the na- 
tional 



36 



NEW SERMONS TO ASSES. 



tional religion; but there is perhaps as much infidelity in that 
nation as any other kingdom in Europe, except England. No- 
thing tends more to promote infidelity than obliging persons to 
profess a formal system of godliness upon pain of loss or pu- 
nishment, which must be the case in all nations where tempo- 
ral rewards and punishments are annexed to the profession of 
religion. It has been by many affirmed of late, that luxury and 
dissipation form the most conspicuous part of the national cha- 
racter of Great Britain; and at first view this appears very pro^ 
bable, but yet it is not true in fact. For infidelity is more uni- 
versal than dissipation-, and many, who neither believe nor prac- 
tise the Christian religion, live in poor enough circumstances, 
and never had it in their power to live luxuriously. And, more 
than all, infidelity is the cause of all the noted public vices 
which abound both in town and country. 

In the ancient Jewish nation, it is manifest, that all their im- 
morality proceeded from their infidelity; they first forgot God 
their Saviour, and after that all sorts of wickedness became easy 
to them. And it will be as impossible for men, who are firmly 
persuaded of the truth of religion, to live in the practice of vice, 
as it will be for them to continue to practise what they have a 
stated aversion to. Infidelity is an unclean part of a national 
character, and is the source of all the dirt which defiles a nation. 
If the nobles of Great Britain are really Christians, and believe 
the religion they profess, what means the history of corruption, 
adultery, and divorces, which is published all over the nation? 
Is all this mere calumny and reproach? I3 there no truth in 
the records of Doctors' Commons ? We must certainly be greatly 
imposed upon, if all those accounts are flagrant calumnies. 

I would willingly suppose all these stories to be false, and 
shall only conceive myself in the land of Moab, where evil might 
be expected, and where infidelity prevailed from the throne to 
the cottage. 

Eglon was undoubtedly a notable pattern of infidelity, and his 
clergy bright examples of unbelief. The influence of the ex- 
ample of the prince and the priests had a strong etlect upon all 
ranks of people; the impurity which flowed from the royal 
infidelity infected the clergy, who knew that favour and prefer- 
ment could only be obtained by conformity to the royal system; 
and the precepts and example of the priests infected all the 
people, who imagined that sin was attended with no danger, 
when they saw the priests commit it so freely. Hence infide- 
lity produced dirt of all sorts; for neither the love of moral 
excellence, nor the fear of offending the Deity, had any influence 
upon the conduct of the great. 

The animal appetites, which have generally the strongest im- 
pulse, were gratified without reserve, because they thought no- 
thing more excellent than the pleasures of sense, and had no 
fear of any consequence which might follow those beastly gra- 
tifications. 



SERMON VII. 



37 



tifications. In the court of Eglon there was neither love of 
truth nor fear of evil; the first craving feeling was gratified, if 
the means could be obtained, though reason revolted, and good 
policy would have prohibited the gratification. But where infi- 
delity prevails, it naturally produces all sorts of immorality. 
Forms of religion are then intended as mere decoys to take in 
the unwary, and are made subservient means to fulfil the inor- 
dinate desires of degenerated mortals. Rituals of devotion, and 
places of worship, become tools of appetite, and places of as- 
signation. Thus the worship of Baalpeor was adapted to their 
Justs, and their outward respect to deity rendered subservient to 
their abominable desires. 

The Moabites, perceiving that persons of rank feared no sin, 
nor abstained from any animal pleasure, considered licentious- 
ness -as no crime; and because habits had made uncleanness 
natural to them, they viewed those unnatural desires as propen- 
sities implanted in them by their Maker, in the same manner as 
they are in beasts. They therefore practised like other animals, 
and gave up reason to the force of appetite. Conjugal obliga- 
tion was made void, and every man and woman fulfilled their 
carnal desires in the same manner as the most libidinous animals. 
It was impossible for dukes, earls, or lords, to know their own 
children, more than it is possible for English courtiers to know 
their's; for they had all their wives in common. This was the 
only thing in Moab which was common; for land, houses, and 
money, were confined to a few overgrown chiefs, as in Great 
Britain. The very money which was collected from the public, 
for public services, was restrained to private purposes; and great 
men could with impunity devour millions, without fear or shame. 
All this dirt proceeded from infidelity, which was the leading 
part of the character of the nation of Moab. But, without 
proceeding farther, I shall conclude this Discourse. 



END OF NEW SERMONS TO ASHES. 



LECTURES 

TO 

LORDS SPIRITUAL; 

OR, 

AN ADVICE TO THE BISHOPS, 

CONCERNING 

iMtgtaus SMtcles, Ctt&e*, ana efmrci) potoer, 

WITH 

A Discourse on Ridicule. 
BY THE REV. JAMES MURRAY, 

AUTHOR OP " SERMONS TO ASSES," &C. 

" I will fight against them with the sword of my mouth,"— Ret. Vu 16. 




A NEW EDITION. 



SLcmlron : 

PRINTED BY AND FOR W. HONE, 67, OLD BAILEY, 

THREE DOORS FROM LUDGATE HILL. 

T818. 



DOMINOS SPIRITUALES. 



Doctissimi, Prjestantissimi Viri, 

(JUM vestram dignitatem in Ecclesid Anglicand Veri Spiritui 
oppositam magis magisque cogitemus, nostri animi mirando 
stupefacti sunt, quo pacta lllustrissimi Viri a Sacris Uteris 
erravissent. Vox Sacra videntibus a prejudiciis liheratis est tarn 
manifesta, ut nulli, nisi capti oculis, sed earn intelligere possent, 
Siquidem vis lucri vestros animos inquinati obruit poscendum 
veniam Deum de hoc horrifico malo. 

Cicero, Domini, declaravit, quae vestris prcecordiis sunt digna, 
ts Nemo enim justus esse potest, qui mortem, qui dolorem, qui 
" exilium, qui egestatem timet, aut quce his sunt contraria, equi- 
" tati anteponiU Maximeque admirantur eum, qui pecunid non 
" movetur : quod in quo viro perspectum sit hum dignum spec- 
*' tatu arbitrantur" 

Decet omnes Episcopos Ciceronis sententias animis conside- 
rare. Melius esset, si mente altd Dbi leges in dies rev&l* 
vissenU 



PREFACE 



JT is a commandment of our Saviour, to " preach the gospel 
to every creature." I am afraid that I have transgressed 
this rule. Our Saviour undoubtedly meant God's creatures ; 
but whether my audience, in their exalted station, are such, is 
somewhat problematical. But though God did not make them 
Bishops, or Lords Spiritual, he has made them men; in this 
sense they are his creatures. Perhaps a few Sermons may do 
them good; they are welcome to the following, whatever may 
happen. There is a period to come, when we shall all be upon 
a level, which men of rank, as well as others, would do well to 
remember. Their Graces and Lordships cannot be the worse 
of being put in mind of their latter end. It is but seldom 
their Chaplains make so free with them. I heartily wish they 
may all arrive safely in the kingdom of Heaven, though their 
mitres in this world should be laid in the dust. I expect no 
reward for the small service I have done them ; they may read 
these Discourses, or not, as they please. They have read better, 
and perhaps worse ; but such as they are, they are welcome to 
peruse them. If they will be so kind as to set us free from the 
Articles of the Church, and the Penal Laws connected there- 
with, I shall promise never to preach to them any more. 



LECTURES 

TO 

LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



Matthew, xxiii. 4. 

Por they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them 
on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with 
one of their fingers, 

HPO help youf Reverences to understand this passage, I must 
refer you to Isaiah, x. 1. They are unrighteous decrees, 
made by men in power, to enslave those who are under their 
jurisdiction. Of this sort I conceive the present Articles of your 
church to be. All the decrees concerning the imposing your 
Articles are unrighteous. Your Lordships had no power to make 
them at first, and the continuance of them is a constant usurpa- 
tion of the prerogative of Christ. As I intend to preach a short 
word to you, who seldom preach an} 7 yourselves, though you 
are sufficiently paid for that purpose, I shall endeavour to shew 
that all laws, concerning your Articles are unrighteous, and 
" burdens grievous to be borne and, for the sake of form, shall 
make some practical improvement. 

As to the first, all laws concerning your Articles are contrary 
to the great charter of liberty in the gospel, wherewith Christ 
hath made his disciples free. I have seen it asserted by some 
of the best English lawyers, That even a British parliament, with 
the king at their head, have no lawful power to make any laws 
contrary to the great charter of the kingdom ; for, in such a case, 
the constitution would be dissolved, and a revolution would 
ensue. Whatever may be in this, it is manifest, from the New 
Testament, that all decrees which are contrary to the gospel 
charter of Christian liberty destroy the constitution of the church. 
Allow me to ask your Lordships, in what part of the gospel, or 
the writings of our Saviour's apostles, you find authority for any 
order of men making rules of faith for others, and imposing 
them upon them on pain of loss and displeasure. You ought 
certainly to give us some satisfaction in a matter of so much 
consequence. It is altogether unrighteous, to claim a privilege 
in religion which you can produce no warrant for from the 
book where all religious privileges are contained. You cannot 

B even 



SERMON I. 



even shew the smallest hint, in all that Jesus and his apostle's 
have said, that has any reference to such an order of clergymen 
as you profess to be. Pray do, good Sirs, shew a Lord Spiritual 
in the New Testament; shew a Most or a Right Reverend 
Father in God, in all that book; and you shall have all due ho- 
nours paid you. You stare at the demand. But is it not rea- 
sonable, before you receive honours, or assume power, that you 
produce your warrant for so doing? But suppose we should 
indulge you with your titles, and suffer you to receive praise 
one of another; yet we can see no reason why you should 
retail out our faith to us, and settle the bounds of our creed. Is 
it not unrighteous for clergymen to assume powers which our 
Saviour hath forbidden, and his apostles expressly refused? 
Pray, my dear Doctors, hear what your Redeemer says, " Neither 
be ye called masters; for one is your master, even Christ." His 
apostles say the same thing in effect: " We are not lords of 
your faith, but helpers of your joy What Jesus has forbidden, 
and his apostles refused, how dare you pretend to assume? To 
Christians there is but one Lord, and one faith, but in your 
church there are twenty-six Lords, and two faiths — the doc- 
trine contained in Divine revelation, and another very different 
contained in your Articles. I hope you will not be so daring 
as to presume to affirm, that the doctrine in the Bible and that 
contained in the Thirty-nine Articles are the same. Remember, 
there is no resurrection of the dead in all your Articles : the 
want of this doctrine makes an essential difference. You will 
perhaps say in your defence, you only impose the Articles upon 
teachers, who are to have the care of souls. Be so kind as shew 
your warrant for this. If it is not in the gospels, or in some of 
the epistles, you must own you have none. But this practice is 
founded upon the right all societies have over their members. 
Stop a little. The church is a society, which has all things 
established by the authority of her Lord and Master: her faith 
is given completely in the Scriptures, and every office and duty 
is fully and perfectly revealed there. A church is a society 
formed according to the mind of Christ, and not according to 
the will of men. All contingencies are provided for by him, 
who knew all his works from the beginning, and perfectly fore- 
saw what would happen. There can never be any need of by- 
laws, to answer purposes which could not be foreseen. Your 
Saviour, my Lords, knew all things that ever could happen, 
and has provided for them in his word. He even foresaw that 
men, like you, would seek to be lords over his heritage, and 
has made a law against it. You may try your experiments in 
the kingdoms of this world, if you please; but beware of making 
alterations in our Saviour's kingdom, on pretence that it is the 
right of societies to make rules for their members. Christ has 
given you the Scriptures; be satisfied with them. They will 
answer all purposes, 16 to make the man of God perfect f they 

served 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



3 



served Timothy, and may well serve the clergy of England. 
Timothy, you say, was a bishop too; well then, imitate him, 
and give up all articles, except the word of God. All your 
decrees and canons concerning religion are unrighteous, mere 
will-worship, and doctrines of men. Can you not trust men with 
the care of souls, who promise to teach according to the Old and 
New Testament, as well as he who promises to teach according 
to the Articles. You swear upon the gospels, which implies 
that you think they have some efficacy to enforce truth; why 
may they not serve ministers to subscribe, and be a sufficient 
test of orthodoxy? But you will say, perhaps, that all parties 
pretend to hold by the Scriptures, even when they teach the 
grossest errors. And truly, an't please your Lordships, the 
Articles are but a poor safeguard against heresy. Some of your- 
selves have hinted that they may be taken in different senses; 
who, then, is sure which is the true sense? It is true, men need 
not subscribe unless they please; they have no more to do but 
let them alone, and want a living: and they had better do this 
than subscribe the doctrine they do not believe. But is it righ- 
teous in you, the leaders in the church, to impose such hardships 
on worthy honest men, who are willing to teach Christianity- 
according to the best of their judgment, as it is made known in 
Divine revelation. But do you yourselves believe the Articles? 
Pray do not stare again. I have really just ground of suspicion 
concerning you. Your sermons, my Lords, your printed seiv 
mons, bear witness against you: few, if any of them, are con- 
sistent with those aphorisms, which you are so tenacious in sup- 
porting. If these Articles are so proper to support the orthodox 
faith, why do you not preach agreeable to the doctrine con- 
tained in them? This does not look well on your part. Is it 
not altogether unrighteous to impose doctrines upon your bre- 
thren, which you never mean to teach yourselves? Perhaps 
you do not mean that they should teach them ; you only require 
subscription. Is not this prevarication, and lying to God? Was 
this the way the Holy Ghost moved you, when you entered 
into orders? Alas! my Lords, I pity you ! You ought to give 
up these badges of unrighteousness, and cease to saddle the 
clergy, like so many asses, with such ungodly trapping. You 
ride in state now, and receive honours of men; but mind, the 
Great Bishop and Shepherd of souls is to come again, and you 
must give an account of your conduct. Your mitres will be laid 
in the dust, and the long robes you love to walk in will be insuf- 
ficient to cover your nakedness at the day of judgment. 

The imposition of articles is unrighteous, if your Reverences 
will please to consider that they have an immediate tendency to 
hinder all religious inquiries, and argue the imperfection of the 
word of God as a standard to direct Christian teachers in matters 
of religion. Is it not plain, when such a system is made a 
standard of Christian doctrine, that the word of God was in- 
sufficient 



4 



SERMON I. 



sufficient, without such a manufacture, to lead men into truth } 
And supposing your Articles are the very true sum aud scope 
of Scripture knowledge; is not the didactic part of your office 
useless ? For what occasion is there for any more teaching from 
Scripture, when you have reached the scope and meaning of 
Divine revelation? Ail that you have now to do is to illustrate 
your own Articles. This, my Lords, is a poor compliment paid 
to the Bible. But is it not a sign that the meaning of your 
Articles is not quite clear, when it needs such long and tedious 
illustrations? Bishop Burnet certainly believed that your 
Articles were not altogether plain, when he was at so much 
pains as to write large commentaries upon them. Though your 
Articles were altogether agreeable to the word of God, yet you 
have no right to impose them as articles of other men's faith ; 
for you are not theirjudges : none have a right to impose matters 
of belief upon us, but he who has a right to judge us for our 
unbelief, and can reward us for our faith. The stewards in the 
church should " bring forth out of their treasure things new and 
old:" but your imposition prevents all new discoveries in religion. 
If the Articles are the true meaning of Scripture, as they ought 
to be before they can be reasonably imposed as tests of faith, 
they are the rules by which teachers must instruct their hearers, 
and every new discovery is excluded, unless it tallies exactly 
with the old ; in this respect it cannot be new. But can any 
thing be more unrighteous and absurd, than to impose a for- 
mulary of faith upon others, which must itself be tried by the 
Scriptures, before it can fully be received ? If the first rule is 
sufficient, there is no occasion for the latter ; and if the latter is 
the supreme judge of all controversies, there is no need of the 
first. This, gentlemen, is very unnecessary trouble ; for those 
who are qualified to discover the sense of Scripture from itself, 
have no occasion for any other Articles. If teachers are honest 
men, they have no need of any test of faith except the Scriptures ; 
and if they are not, all the Articles in the world will not make 
them so. When a system of religion is imposed upon men as a 
standard by which they are to teach others, it ought to be so 
plain as to be self-evident, and so complete as to need no amend- 
ment. If it is doubtful, it will be difficult to pursue its inten- 
tion ; if it is imperfect, it will need a supplement, and this sup- 
poses that it might be wanted ; for wherever we can find this 
supplement, we may find the whole, without being obliged to 
any other men T s labours. 

I am aware that your Lordships will be ready to say, that the 
Scriptures are not all self-evident ; and that what I have now said 
is an argument against their perfection, as well as against the 
Articles. But stop a little, Gentlemen : the greatest part of the 
word of God is self-evident ; and where it does not appear so 
very plain, there is a promise made by the Author thereof, that 
the Holy Ghost shall make it known, For your edification, I 

shall 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



5 



shall set before you a few passages of Divine truth, which may 
help your Reverences to understand this subject a little better. 
" And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Com- 
forter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth ; 
whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not. But 
when the Comforter is come, even the Spirit of truth, he shall 
testify of me: and ye also shall bear witness*. 11 — " Howbeit,when 
the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for 
he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear that 
shall he speak : and he will shew you things to come. He shall 
glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto 
you f." — " But when the Comforter shall come, which is the Holy 
Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you 
all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, ichatsoever I 
have said unto you. — For the Spirit searcheth all things , even the 
deep things of God. — Behold, I will make known my words 
unto you. — Behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you.— 
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye 
will, and it shall be done unto you+" You cannot produce 
such promises in behalf of any human articles. What the 
disciples of Christ know not in the mean time, he has promised 
to shew them afterwards; but human devices have no such pro- 
mise made to them. Is there not a wide difference between 
propositions which are both dark and doubtful, and such as are 
only obscure, but certain in themselves, and have the promise 
of an infinite Author annexed to them, that we shall understand 
them as we have occasion for more knowledge ? Though the 
Almighty has spoken some things in such a manner as to confound 
the wise, yet we are sure the Author cannot deceive us. But can 
as much be said for legions of fallible clergymen, who have 
both their own passions, their prejudices," and private interests,, 
to gratify. Truly, my Lords, ten or twelve thousand pounds 
a-year will always have a powerful effect on the tempers of 
Divines. The doctrines of the Old Testament, which were rot 
understood by high-priests, like you, were yet revealed to babes, 
in the channel in which truth will always be made manifest. It 
is a sad truth, and bears a dreadful aspect to men of your cha- 
racter, that " not many mighty, not many wise men, according to 
the flesh, are called." The rich man in the parable had ail his 
good things in this life, but in the next he lifted up his eyes in 
hell. Pardon the expression; those are the words of our Lord, 
and you ought to know them. By imposing articles, you 
assume the prerogative of the King of Zion; the crime is high- 
treason against Him. Were you to do so in England, without 
the consent of your sovereign, you would come under a prce- 
munire. The King of Zion will likewise vindicate his own 
authority; He will maintain his prerogative to your shame, if 
you continue to pursue the paths you have hitherto walked in. 

* John, xiv. 16,17; xv. 26,27. f John xvi, 13, 11. \ John xv. 7. 

Some 



(5 



SERMON I. 



Some of your brethren have shewed their inclinations to be 
delivered from their yokes of bondage, but you want to wreath 
the yoke faster about their necks. It is unrighteous — it is un- 
reasonable — your Saviour forbids it; and will you contradict 
him? He comes — he comes the second time, without sin, unto 
salvation. Every eye shall see him, and they also who pierced 
him. My Lords, you must be there; you look aghast! but it is 
true; the small and the great must attend his coming. Will 
a presentation, or a conge cCelire, be of any service to vindicate 
your usurpation of his prerogative ? Will a dispensation from 
the crown to hold livings without doing duty avail you before 
the Judge of all the earth ? Your works will be tried by fire. Gold, 
and silver, and precious stones, mitres, and crowns, will all 
be calcined to ashes. Every man's works shall be tried by fire 
of what sort it is. Conscience, Gentlemen, allow conscience to 
speak, and I shall have the whole bench of Bishops on my side. 
You smile! and to be sure, mitres and crowns, honours and 
power, with so many thousands of yearly income, will make any 
worldly man smile; but the joys of the wicked are but short. 
There is a period to come, when these shall afford but small 
pleasure. 

It is unrighteous to impose human dogmas upon others, 
because it is laying a stumbling-block before them. You, my 
Lords, know how strong the temptation which arises from the 
prospect of a good living is. Many unguarded mortals have 
swallowed down Articles they have never digested, for a few 
hundreds a-year. But why should snares be laid for men's 
virtue, when there is no occasion for it? What advantage arises 
either to the church or state from imposing human articles? 
Have the aphorisms of the clergy more efficacy to make men 
good churchmen, and true subjects, than Divine revelation? 
Perhaps you are afraid, that if the Articles w : ere laid aside, the 
Dissenters would come into your churches, and devour your 
livings. You have more to do than to remove the Articles, 
before that happen. Your liturgy, my Lords, your ill-said 
mass in English, must be removed also, before you receive any 
danger from that quarter. It would do you honour to lay aside 
both; but ease your own members first, and let the Dissenters 
enjoy their toleration. You have even a pleasure in holding the 
scourge of your Articles over their heads. It is an unrighteous 
decree by which you hold that authority; it was owing to men 
of your order that ever there was such a law hanging over their 
heads. It is poor spite to envy men their liberty, when they 
are asking none of your emoluments. Though they pay your 
tithes, you are not satisfied unless you have dominion over their 
consciences. This is an old evil among Lords Spiritual. Your 
predecessors led the way, and you are disposed to follow 
them. Suppose it were your own case, my Lords, would you 
think it reasonable for others to lay restrictions upon your 

consciences, 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



7 



consciences, who have no right to do so? Suppose there should 
another long parliament start up, and dissolve the hierarchy, and 
require you to use the Scotch Directory, and avouch all the 
Articles of Presbytery, on pain of certain fines and imprison- 
ments, would you account it just? Or suppose they should 
excuse you three and an half, would you not say, and very 
justly, they ought not to be lords of your faith? The applica- 
tion is easy, and your Reverences must undoubtedly perceive it. 
You account yourselves a part of the British constitution, and 
imagine that all will go to ruin, if your ecciesiastical power is 
called in question. But it is by right of your baronies that you 
sit in parliament, and not as church officers. I appeal to Judge 
Blackstone if this is not true. There have laws been made 
without the presence of Bishops, which are still in force, that 
shew that Lords Spiritual are no essential part of the English 
constitution. In the reigns of Edward I. Richard II. and 
Henry III. parliaments were held without Bishops; and it was 
resolved by all the judges in England, that the King may hold 
his parliament with h ; ,3 Lords and Commons without them. 
The constitution would be quite safe, although there were not a 
Bishop in England, or any where else. 

The unreasonableness of requiring subscription to Articles 
will further appear, if we consider that they do not answer the 
end they are said to be intended for. They are intended to 
preserve orthodoxy in the faith ; but either the Articles are not 
sound, or many of the dignified Clergy are not. It will puzzle 
all the Divines in the universe to reconcile the writings of 
Tillotson, Sherlock, and Clarke, with the Thirty-nine 
Articles ©f the Church of England. Even the late Archbishop 
Secker is not able to abide this standard. I could give many 
instances; but those who read both will easily perceive the 
difference. I might even appeal to his Grace of Gloucester, 
whether his Treatise on the Spirit is exactly consistent with the 
Articles he some time ago subscribed. What is the meaning of 
so much zeal for subscription, when it answers no good purpose ? 
Your Lordships would take it ill if I should compare you to 
prostitutes, who, when they have lost their own reputations, are 
always fond to seduce others into the paths of vice. It is al- 
together unrighteous to hold by laws which expressly contradict 
the laws of Jesus Christ. Christ commands us to call no man 
master but himself, in what pertains to the conscience; but the 
laws of the clergy say the very contrary, and oblige men, under 
grievous pains and losses, to subscribe articles thev'themselves do 
not believe. Is it not " a burden grievous to be borne" for men 
either to subscribe what they have no evidence to believe, or be 
deprived of emoluments which they have as good a right to as 
others of his Majesty's subjects? Subscription does not give a 
right to a living; it is the presentation which gives that. Now 
to urge unnecessary qualifications is the same thmg as depriving 

a man 



8 



SERMON I. 



a man of his right. You, my Lords, know that the qualification 
is of no real use, and yet you insist upon it; is not this binding 
heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and laying them on 
men's shoulders? You will not touch them with one of your 
ringers You will neither undertake to answer for subscribers, 
provided they shall incur guilt by subscribing, nor provide a 
living for them in case they should be destitute. It is in your 
power to relieve them, if you are willing. You can join in an 
application to parliament for their relief, or you cannot oppose 
it when it is made. I do not mean it can be of any real use to a 
Christian church if you did; but it would be lessening the 
burdens of your brethren. But this, perhaps, is too much to be 
expected from High-Priests: it is more than your brethren the 
Pharisees would grant to our Saviour or his Apostles, and I am 
afraid we must not expect it from you. The civil powers would 
have reh ased Jesus Christ, but the Priests remonstrated against 
it. So Jesus is crucified at the request of the Clergy. Jesus did 
not ask any favours at their hands; but if he had, they did not 
seem disposed to grant him any. He was a non-conformist, and 
did not approve their Articles, and so could not be forgiven by 
Priests. Though you have not the same object, your principle 
is the same; they were afraid of the constitution of their church, 
and the emoluments they enjoyed; and are not your reasons the 
same ? My Lords, you cannot deny it ; it is too evident to be 
decently denied. 

The Jewish clergy imposed heavy burdens on the people ; 
they had the tithes of almost all things, the very mint and 
cummin could not escape them- You have the same; the fruits 
of our fields, the increase of our cattle, the plants and roots of 
our gardens, are tythed by you. Ah ! you are like your brethren 
the Pharisees ; only you do not fast nor pray so ofteft, otherwise 
you are much belied. And you use your brethren as the Pha- 
risees did Christ; you scandalize them, because they do not love 
your yoke of bondage. Christ was accounted an heretic be- 
cause he set up a more simple religion than that of the Jews: 
and some of you serve your brethren in the same way; you 
impute designs to them which you cannot prove, and which 
very probably were never in their hearts. This is unfair, unge- 
nerous, and unchristian. But why should I expect Christianity 
in a Jewish dispensation? The poor animals are truly to be 
pitied who must couch down under your burdens; they may 
long wait, before you stretch forth the hand to help them. 
The petitioners are like the man who fell among the thieves; 
they will find no mercy at the hands of Priests and Levites. 

Some of the friends of clerical usurpation have of late re- 
vived the old Popish argument concerning the power of the 
church to appoint articles for men to believe, and allege 
that the church, by which they mean the clergy, is the only 
judge of all matters of faith, fiut the question to be first re- 
solved 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 9 

solved is, Who is the Church? Have the common people no 
concern in this question? If so, they are no way answerable 
for any errors they may be led into under the direction of the 
clergy : the framers of creeds and articles must answer for all. 
It is amazing to observe the assurance of these devotees of 
Popery; they claim a privilege which none but the Head of the 
church can claim, or such as can shew infallible and indisputable 
signatures that he has entrusted them with that power. Sarpedon 
tells us, that to suffer men to interpret the Scriptures according 
to their own private judgment is to suffer them to follow their 
own fancies. And where is the harm of this, provided their fancy 
is right, and consistent with the dictates of reason? One man's 
fancy may pass as well as that of another; and there have been 
more foolish fancies generated in the brains of the clergy assem* 
bled in synods and councils, than ever have appeared among any 
equal number of men of any denomination. But the clergy set- 
tled the number of canonical books; and they have a right, we 
are told, also to settle their signification. Softly, gentlemen; 
this will not be granted you ; you reckon too fast. Are you sure 
that revelation would not have been received, unless the clergy 
had taken the trouble to settle that point? But though they 
took this upon them, the question is, Who gave them authority? 
Might not any number of honest men have done the same thing? 
All that they had any right to do was to give their advice con- 
cerning that point; if their advice was received, it was the 
power of Providence, and not their authority, which settled 
the number of canonical books. They endeavoured to obtaia 
the sanction of the civil authority to enforce their decisions, and 
by that means obliged the subjects of the empire to receive the 
Scriptures; but they did the same thing with their canons and 
creeds, which will prove that they also are canonical. 

The clergy assembled in councils only told what they thought; 
but it only belonged to the power of the Almighty to make men 
believe that they were right. And this conviction could only 
proceed from the evidence of Scripture doctrine, when they had 
examined it. If they received it upon the authority of the clergy, 
it was implicit faith, and not a rational conviction of truth ; to 
those who received it in this fashion, it was not the word of God, 
but the word of man. The clergy are always ready to put us- 
in mind how much we are obliged to them ; but if accounts 
were fairly settled, I am afraid that the balance will appear to 
be much on the other side. They are ready on all occasions to 
take more trouble to themselves than there is any reason to thank 
them for; and, besides, they are always well paid for their trou- 
ble. When these gentlemen shew as much concern for men's 
eternal happiness, as they appear anxious for the Mammon of 
unrighteousness, it will remove some suspicions concerning their 
springs of action. But as long as they appear more anxious for 
the tithes of anise, mint, and cummin, than mercy, judgment* 

C and 



10 



SEHMON I. 



and faith, very few honest men will pay them any regard. When 
the gentlemen of your order took the trouble to collect the ca- 
nonical books of Scripture, did not the civil powers pay them for 
their pains? Councils seldom assembled but at a great expence 
to the public; and Bishops were never such fools as to travel at 
their own expence, unless when they could not help it. I would" 
desire your friend Sarpedon to tell us no more of the succes- 
sion of a church, with power to establish articles, unless he takes 
in the whole community of believers into the idea; and even all 
they have a right to do is to make the best they can of the articles 
which Christ and his apostles have already formed to their hands. 
If it were necessary to pursue Sarpedon very close, he might be 
required to prove from the nature of Christ's kingdom, and the 
account which revelation gives of a church, that any number 
of clergymen can be a church, he will not find such an idea in 
the whole New Testament. The apostles themselves did not 
assume that title when they were assembled, but considered 
themselves as only members of the church where they were. 
Suppose that all the Cardinals and Bishops of the church of 
Rome were assembled, with the Pope at their head, they could 
not with any propriety be called the Church of Rome; they 
could only be an ecclesia of clergy: a Christian church has a 
far more extensive idea. The two houses of convocation of 
England are not the Church of England, nor even the represen- 
tatives of that church ; they only represent some of the clergy. 
I am not sure if the poor curates have any representation ; but 
I am sure that the people have none in either of these houses. 
It argues great officiousness, my Lords, in you and your brethren, 
to pretend to do men's business without their consent; and 
great ambition to pretend to be their masters, without any just 
right or authority. It is " a burden grievous to be borne" for 
men to be obliged to commit their spiritual concerns to persons 
they cannot trust nor confide in ; who, instead of seeking to 
save their souls, prey upon their substance, and riot in their 
possessions. 

One grievous burden you lay upon our shoulders is yourselves ; 
the majority of the natiou reckon you a heavy burden, and long 
to be freed from you. Your extravagant incomes might do much 
good; your Lordships devour more in a year than all the clergy 
of Scotland. And yet the people there are as nice and intelligent, 
and know more of religion, than the greatest part of the people 
in any of your dioceses; even the poor Dissenters within your 
own bounds will compare with any of your people, who are 
immediately under your very noses. Is it not, Most Reverend 

and Right Reverend Fathers in , a burden grievous to be 

borne, to see a man, who never preaches above once a year, 
devour twelve or fifteen thousand pounds per annum, and one 
who drudges from day to day not have as much as will keep his 
family from rags, nor himself from beggary? You say that it is 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



11 



the constitution: may Heaven soon dissolve it; for God never 
made it. You know this, gentlemen, as well as I; your con- 
sciences have told it you a thousand times; but honour, power, 
and luxury, have rendered you callous to all conviction. 

It is a burden grievous to be borne, and which you never touch 
with one of your lingers, though you lay it on, — I mean your 
Spiritual Courts. In these you reign like lions in their dens, and 
tear to pieces all who have the misfortune to fall under your 
power. Your courts resemble the fabled castles of the giants, 
where nothing is to be seen but the spoils of victims devoured 
by your merciless hands. Woe to the man who enters within 
your spiritual dominions! for though his soul can never be the 
better by any thing you can do, his body, his interest, and sub- 
stance, shall be considerably worse. Ye culprits, who have 
ever been within the walls of these inquisitions, say, What help, 
what aid, did you receive from the fingers of the Bishops ? was 
not his little finger heavier than the loins of your Saviour, who 
is all mercy and goodness? What do you think of his Chancellor, 
Proctors, and Apparitors? Saw you any mercy in their visage, or 
clemency in their looks ? Nay, nay ; every one would look for 
his gain from his quarter, as long as you had a farthing. His 
Lordship's finger would not ease your burden, nor mitigate your 

ne, however grievous to be borne. 

The Articles, Liturgy, and Athanasian Creed, are heavy bur- 
dens, and grievous to be endured, which you zealously bind on 
other men's shoulders, though you give them nothing for bearing 
them. You do not add twenty pounds a year to the living of a 
poor Curate for subscribing and reading these badges of super- 
stition. If a man is so obliging as to sell you his conscience, 
you ought undoubtedly to keep his teeth going. Many of your 
underlings would never read nor subscribe a single article of those 
fopperies, were it not for a little temporary enjoyment,— and far 
too small, my Lords, for so much obedience. If they would 
cleave to the Lord Jesus Christ, he would reward them better 
for their service. You ought to consider them ; many of them 
are dutiful creatures, and obey your mandates with great punc- 
tuality; but it is hard to perform such disagreeable business for 
such puny rewards. A little help would be of some service; a 
hundred instead of forty pounds a year would make the Athana- 
sian Creed go better down : you can easily afford it out of so 
many thousands. I wonder much, considering the temper of 
the times, that there are any creeds read at all ; for it is seldom 
that some churches have any sermons. 

The damnation of your Creed is grievous to be borne; who can 
rehearse it without saying, Miserere, Dominef I wonder you are 
not ashamed to deal so often in unreasonable damnation. Shall 
all men be damned who do not believe the Athanasian Creed? 
then all the apostles are in a miserable situation. Your Lord- 
ships, I am afraid, will stand a poor chance. Ask your con- 
sciences 



12 



SERMON I. 



science if you believe it. Horresco referens, est horribile dictu. If 
all who do not believe this unscriptural creed shall perish eter- 
nally, who then can be saved? for never a son of Adam was able 
to believe it. Jesus Christ himself could not believe it; for it is 
not true, and he could not believe a falsehood. It is a burden, 
my Lords, it is a grievous burden ; and it is unreasonable for you 
to bind it upon any persons. I would not wish the devil to 
have such a burden. I wish it had only been nonsense; for then 
we might have laughed at it: but it is fit to spoil any man's 
mirth to hear the clergy curse so heartily, and all the people say 
Amen. " Bless, and curse not" is the true maxim; it is a glorious 
maxim,, a God-like maxim. The other is devilish-like, wicked, 
and abominable. Pray remove this burden altogether; touching 
it with your finger will not do; it will burn you, it will set all 
your lawn sleeves in a flame, if you come near it. Noli me tan- 
gere is its motto. Read, and take warning before it is too late, 
Jest what came upon the Jewish priests come upon you ; which 
God of his infinite mercy prevent. Amen. 



SERMON II. 

Matthew, xxiii. 4. 

For they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay 
them on men y s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them 
with one of their fingers, 

ONE of their fingers would be insufficient to move them ; the 
whole strength of their bodies would not be able to move 
the burdens they have laid upon others. I heartily wish, and so 
will every honest man, that the race of the Pharisees had never 
survived the destruction of Jerusalem, but had been consumed 
in the temple, when the Roman soldiers set it on fire. The 
world had been well cleared of a race of vermin, which since 
have not only devoured widows' houses, but have preyed on 
every house and cottage in the world, wherever they have had 
power. They have infested the world almost in all quarters, 
and have changed themselves into every shape. They have as- 
sumed the shape of Bishops, Patriarchs, Metropolitans, Cardinals, 
and Popes, and will turn any thing, to serve their own ends and 
purposes. The Almighty seems to have sent them as a scourge 
to punish all nations who have not valued those liberties and 
privileges which he hath bestowed upon them. 

The persons spoken of here were an amphibious kind of 
creatures, partly laymen and partly clergymen; they were 

something 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 15 

something like what you would call a Rector or Vicar made Justice 
of the Peace, or a Bishop made a Baron; they belonged to both 
states, that they might devour the profits of both. They had a 
sort of double authority: as priests, they could shut men out of 
the kingdom of heaven ; and as lawyers and civil officers, they 
could banish them from this world. It was dangerous to dis- 
oblige them: for if any one happened to offend them, and fell 
under their curses, they had no privilege in things civsl ; they 
were like men excommunicated in the Bishops' courts, who 
cannot sue for their civil rights till their Lordships loose their 
sentence. They had the whole credenda of the nation under 
their controul, and no man durst pretend to believe a single sen- 
tence without their good licence. They had the sole power of 
all the synagogues in the kingdom ; and could likewise licence 
gin-shops. They were a strange sort of beings, they were ex- 
ceedingly like to English Bishops. 

In the first place, Because they were the creatures of the 
King, or the civil power. In the days of our Saviour, the 
Romans made any one high-priest whom they pleased. The 
Tetrarch had a power to do it; and Josephus tells us, that Herod 
transferred the priesthood from Jonathan to his brot'ier Theo- 
philus; and Agrippa took away the priest-hood from Jesus 
the son of Gamaliel, and gave it to Matthias the son of Theo- 
philus. This shews that the high-priests among the Jews were 
not now of divine institution, but creatures of human policy. 
While they continued upon the plan of their original institution, 
none of the kings of Judah could remove them; but after 
they turned Pharisees, they became mere creatures of the 
state. This, an't please your Reverences, shews, that when 
the clergy join with the kingdoms of this world, the Lord 
Jesus Christ will have no more to do with them. I have 
seen in some of the printed sermons of the Bishops and clergy 
some hard sayings against the Scribes and Pharisees: but these 
preachers did not consider that they were abusing their betters, 
and their fathers too. There never were in the world, believe 
me, my dear Doctors, a set of men more zealous for church 
authority, — for tithes, — for the rights of the clergy,—- for keeping 
the common people in subjection, — for persecuting Dissenters,—- 
for an established church, — and the Lord knows what. They 
were zealous, like you, for human Articles also. 

I observed that the ancient Jewish priests, the Pharisees, were 
creatures; and what could they be else? But the Lord never 
made them; they were exactly like our English Bishops, crea- 
tures of civil authority. No man need to wonder that they 
were dutiful to the powers of this earth; for it is some way 
natural for creatures to worship their Creator. This very morn- 
ing all the birds in this wild aviary are expressing the feelings 
of gratitude to Him that made them. I do not mean, my Lords, 
that they do it so politely as Lords Spiritual, nor use so much 

ceremony 



14 



SERMON II. 



ceremony as a Bishop does, when he is admitted into the Royal 
presence, to shew his gratitude for his preferment; but they do 
it in a way which is far better — they do it from the heart. The 
rooks on the old trees before my window, the blackbird in the 
garden-hedge, the thrush and linnet on the spray, with all the 
rural concert of feathered songsters, would do one's heart good 
to hear how gladsome they are to praise their Creator for the 
pleasing enlivening beams of the morning-sun. The ewes and 
lambkins on the banks of the rivulet, the cattle on yonder 
meadow, all seem pleased, and, according to their different man- 
ners, praise the Lord that made them. No signs of ambition, 
except to please, appear among them. The fox, who just now 
issued forth from among the brakes and whins, and devoured 
the tender lamb, and put the flocks in fear, suggested to my mind 
the idea of a Bishop,— -a Priest,— a Pharisee! How slily did he 
make his approach, as if upon some friendly visit, till he was 
within reach of his unhappy victim, which he devoured without 
mercy, as the Pharisees did widows' houses, or as Commissaries 
or Proctors devour the substance of poor culprits in the spiritual 
courts. This was paying devotion to the belly, like those who 
make it their god, and who mind earthly things. It is a disgraceful 
thing to live on the vitals of others, like foxes, wolves, and kites. 
It is their nature, to be sure, to live on the ruins of other crea- 
tures ; but it is not the nature of man, God made man upright. 
All similitude between man and ravenous animals is a perversion 
of their nature. 

When I observe that there is an exact agreement between 
Bishops and the ancient Jewish Priests, I would not be under- 
stood as if I meant those under the theocracy while the Lord 
was among the people ; there does not appear to be the least 
resemblance between those officers of God's appointment and 
our Clergy. Those sons of Levi were called and appointed by 
God himself, and were priests by a divine ordinance. Both 
they and the Kings of Israel were appointed by the authority of 
heaven, and made each a part of the theocracy. When they 
continued in this channel, and fulfilled the laws of the theo- 
cracy, the Lord acknowledged them, and shewed them favour; 
but after they obstinately transgressed the laws which God, as 
their King, had given them, and walked according to their own 
vain imaginations, he forsook them, and no more acknowledged 
them for his people ; yet they did not give up their claims, when 
God gave them up, but endeavoured to support their claim to 
God as their God, and to the distinguishing privileges which, as 
a nation, they had formerly enjoyed. But, alas! they had lost 
their right, which rendered their claim absurd and ridiculous. 
When the Messiah, who was the end of their law, was come, 
it was wicked and impious to support their hierarchy. All 
dominion in matters of conscience now centered in Jesus; the 
domiaion of the priesthood, as well as the royal authority, 

rested 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



15 



rested on him. He alone claimed the privilege to forgive sins, 
and the sole right of legislation, as the King whom God had set 
upon his holy hill of Zion. The pretensions of the Jewish 
priests to authority and dominion was therefore very profane. 
Your present hierarchy, my Lords, is established upon the very 
same principle which influenced the Jews to crucify the Messiah. 
The claim of Jesus to a sole and exclusive authority in things 
spiritual set aside all the pretensions of the high-priests to 
dominion over the consciences of the people. This was highly 
offensive to their pride, and the notion they had of their own 
spiritual jurisdiction. They considered Jesus as an invader of 
their rights and privileges, which they had possessed for some 
thousand years ; and they determined that his claim was blas- 
phemy, and crucified him as a blasphemer of an establishment 
which God had set up, and which he had appointed them to 
maintain. 

The hierarchy of the church of England agrees with no state 
of true religion which God hath appointed, either under the 
Old or New Testament dispensation ; but it agrees exactly with 
that church authority by which our Lord Jesus Christ was tried, 
condemned, and crucified. This is a hard saying, my Lords ; 
but I shall make it as plain as the mitres on your heads. At- 
tend to what follows, and you will certainly perceive the truth of 
the above observation. 

The hierarchy which God appointed among the Jews was 
hereditary, handed down from father to son, and could not be 
changed by the civil authority as long as the priests observed 
the laws, and kept clear from intermeddling with matters of 
state. As the kings of Israel were immediately appointed by 
God, as well as the priests, they had a right, provided the priests 
interfered in state matters, to depose them, as Solomon did, 
Abiathar; but if they held by their own province, and per- 
formed their duty, they had no right to meddle with them. 
The English priesthood is not of this sort; you, my Lords, can- 
not entail your office upon your eldest sons, unless his Majesty 
appoint them to bishoprics. Here you see there is a material 
difference. Another considerable difference between the ancient 
Jewish priesthood and your hierarchy is, the Jewish priests were 
confined to matters of religion, and were not admitted to secular 
employments. There were civil officers appointed to manage 
what pertained to the state; the priests were only concerned 
with the matters of the Lord*. This is a prodigious difference, 
and worthy your attention. The Jewish high-priest offered 
sacrifices, as well as received gifts; but our high-priests receive 
gifts, but offer no sacrifices. The chief design of the priests 
was to offer sacrifices, and to make atonement for the sins of the 
people; in this they were typical of the great High-Priest who 



* 2 Cliron. xix. 11, 



was 



16 



SERMON II. 



was to come: but our high-priests can do none of tbese things; 
they do not pretend to offer sacrifices, and they cannot pretend 
to he types of the Messiah. All the Jewish priests were cir- 
cumcised in the flesh of their foreskin, which was a ritual they 
were obliged to undergo by divine appointment: I never hear, 
my Lords, that you copy after them in this particular. As long 
as the institution of the Jewish hierarchy continued in its ori- 
ginal purity, there was only only one high-priest in the whole 
nation. Our hierarchy is very different: for we have six and 
twenty, — at least, always two; — or, if you please, we have 
twenty-tour chief priests, and two high-priests. This was not 
the appointment under the Jewish theocracy. It appears to be 
wholly a human invention, for which there is no warrant in 
the sacred writings. 

The Jewish clergy had no legislative authority in religion; 
they were obliged to direct their conduct according to the sta- 
tutes wuich were given by the hand of Moses; they had no 
power, either with or without their king, to add to or diminish 
from their system which the Almighty gave them. They could 
make no alterations, without an express revelation from God, 
unless they were disposed to provoke him, as they frequently 
did. In this, my Lords, your constitution and their's differ evi- 
dently. You assume extensive powers. At various times, and 
in divers manners, those of your order have framed canons, arti- 
cles, creeds, liturgies, and homilies, and changed them upon cer- 
tain occasions, as your Wisdoms thought fit. I wish it would 
please your Reverences to change them again, seeing you pretend 
to have the same power your predecessors had. Changes are 
lightsome, my Lords, and a proper alteration at this time would 
ease many of your clergy. Pray, be so good as try another 
experiment: you cannot well remove farther from the Scriptures 
than you are at present. I think I have proved to a demonstra- 
tion, that you differ widely from the appointment of God con- 
cerning the clergy in the ancient Jewish church; so you have 
no Old Testament precept or example for your existence ; you 
agree, however, with the Pharisees under the corrupt state of 
the Jewish church, by whose consent and authority Jesus Christ 
was crucified. This is the last branch of the proposition I pro- 
mised to make good : I shall now proceed to do it. 

1. When the Jews departed from the Divine appointment 
concerning their clergy, they increased the power and number 
of their high-priests. The original law authorized but one; 
but in our Saviour's time there were two, Annas and Caiaphas. 
Those were something like our two archbishops; the one 
primate of Judea, and the other primate of all Judea. 

2. They had also very extensive authority, at least they 
pretended to it; they sat in the great council of the nation, 
and had a mixed power joined with the chiefs of the land: 
they were exceedingly like your Lords Spiritual assembled with 

the 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



17 



the Lords Temporal in parliament Under the theocracy this 
was not the practice; for the matters of the Lord and the matters 
of the king were then kept distinct: and they have never been 
mingled without great danger to the liberties of mankind. There 
are few men so perfect as to discbarge two offices faithfully, 
when the perversion of both tends to their own private interest. 
There is danger, my Lords, that a clergyman, in the character 
of a civil magistrate, will sometimes stretch a point with respect 
to those who are not sound churchmen, and lay the hand of 
his authority heavily on, when the object is suspected to be no 
friend to clerical jurisdiction. And those who appeal from his 
jurisdiction as a magistrate will be in jeopardy of having their 
sentence denounced with all the authority of a priest, from the 
chair of verity. Such amphibious creatures will frequently be 
tempted to squeeze a text on purpose to support their magis- 
terial authority, and to shew how dominion is founded upon 
grace, or rather grace on dominion. 

3. The Jewish priests took away the key of knowledge from 
the people: instead of reading and expounding the law and the 
prophets, as they ought to have done, they rendered them vain 
through the substitution of their own traditions in their place; 
by which means the people were ignorant of the Scriptures, 
and means of knowledge, except what the priests were pleased 
to allow them in their stead. In place of the pure and incor- 
ruptible word of God, they were burdened with traditions and 
doctrines of men; they knew nothing as they ought to have 
known. In proportion as the priests kept the people ignorant, 
they rendered them superstitious and bigoted, and ready to an- 
swer all the ends of their selfish policy. It was ignorance of the 
Scriptures which reudered the common people dupes to the 
priests; for had they understood the doctrines of the law and 
the prophets, they would have soon perceived that they were 
imposed upon. The knowledge of Divine revelation enlarges 
the mind, and makes men understand their own privileges. 
There never will be any danger from the power of the clergy, if 
once the laity understand the Scriptures. If the Commons and 
Lords of Great Britain ever happen to pay proper attention to 
the Scriptures, your high authority, my Lords, will soon come to 
an end. The Jewish priests knew this, and did all they could 
to guard against it. You, gentlemen, imitate your brethren of 
Judea. Instead of reading and expounding the Scriptures, to 
teach your people in divine knowledge, you put them off only 
with a few select passages, and a short discourse on some parti- 
cular text. You load them with creeds, articles, and canons, as 
the Jewish priests did the people in their time; but you are 
sparing of the Scriptures, as if they would poison them. 

Those who are first in the fashion for taste and learning say 
your sermons are good, well digested, and finely composed. I 
have no objection to your compositions, my Lords; but a few of 

D the 



18 



SERMON II. 



the plain purposes of a paragraph of Scripture would be far 
more edifying to your people. To read a large passage, and 
shew the scope and use thereof, would be of infinitely more ser* 
vice than aiithe laboured harangues of human eloquence. While 
you neglect to expound the Scriptures, you take away the key 
of knowledge, which opens a door to a right understanding of 
the principles of the kingdom of heaven. I do not mean that 
human explanations of the word of God should pass for first 
principles; but they may help people to inquire if the things 
are so, and may answer a very good purpose. Your Reverences 
preach but seldom ; but would you expound Scripture, you might 
be excused all your other labours. A sermon on some parti- 
cular occasion we hear of now and then; but these discourses 
are so interlarded with particular attachments, and the dignity of 
your order, that they can do very little good to poor miserable 
sinners. This is an idea you ought to consider, seeing you 
have your own guilt as other men, and stand in need of mercy 
like the rest of the guilty race of Adam. I shall say nothing of 
original sin, which has been so often disputed: you, gentlemen, 
have as much actual transgression as will require an abundance 
of mercy. The idea of mercy is not so very visible in your 
public performances; there is far too much of the high-priest in 
them to make them agreeable to the wretched, miserable, blind, 
and naked. You will easily perceive he is a sinner that preaches 
to you, and perhaps your Lordships will think none of the least 
of them. It is a bad character, to be sure; but a. sinner worth 
ten thousand a year is greater than one who is worth very little. 
Your brethren the Pharisees had a great aversion at sinners, 
but they loved sin, and practised it to a great extent themselves. 
They reproached Jesus Christ for receiving sinners, and eating 
with them. This was cruel and unmerciful; for though they 
were not disposed to do good to the miserable themselves, it 
was the highest barbarity to envy them happiness from the hands 
of others. 

4. The chief and capital method which the Jewish priests used 
to take away the key of knowledge from the people was the 
imposing of articles of their own composing upon them, and 
making them pass for the true meaning of the law; by this 
means they placed a padlock upon the Scriptures, lest the com- 
mon people should find out the secrets of the priests. There is 
something in the nature of man which inclines him to pursue 
after knowledge. When our Saviour came and taught the plain 
meaning of the law and the prophets, the multitudes appeared 
enamoured with his doctrine; they flocked after him, and gladly 
heard him. They perceived a visible difference between the 
plain Scripture doctrine which he taught them, and the abstruse 
and equivocal jargon of the Doctors. The chief priests were 
alarmed to see a non-subscriber make so free with the articles 
of the church : they raised the cry against Jesus, and proclaimed 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



19 



the church was in danger; " If we let this man alone, all men 
will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take away both 
our place and nation' 1 They perceived the danger of a free 
inquiry into Scripture truths, and suffering a teacher to pass 
unpunished, who discovered all the secret deceits of their craft. 
If ©nee such a generous system as that which our Saviour pro- 
posed was received, it would open a door to the Gentiles as well 
as the Jews, and then the exclusive privileges of the priests and 
lawyers would be at an end. There would then be no occasion 
for the Temple, the place and nursery of Priests and Pharisees. 
This shews that the Priests discovered the intention of our Sa- 
viour's doctrine and miracles, and excogitated as good a scheme 
as human wisdom could devise to guard against their influence. 
Caiaphas was no fool when he said, that it was expedient that 
one man should die for the people, and not the whole nation 
perish. To him and the priests the downfal of priesthood, and 
the destruction of the nation, were the same things. What is 
a nation to a dignified clergyman, without an extensive living? 
There are few of this character that would risk a living for a 
nation, though they have often almost ruined a whole nation for 
the sake of rich livings and preferments. Archbishop Laud is 
an example of this, who, to support his own honour, riches, and 
splendour, ruined both his sovereign and himself, and brought a 
civil war on the nation. The Jewish priests would not give up 
the smallest degree of their authority, or part with a single tra- 
dition ; and the reason was, nobody could tell how far a refor- 
mation might go. It might proceed so far as to endanger the 
places of the high clergy, and the constitution would be in dan- 
ger; for the priests were a branch of the constitution. Once 
give way to a few peevish petitioners in one thing, and then you 
may proceed till the whole fabric of the hierarchy is taken clown 
piece-meal. These arguments are very like those which your 
chaplains and friends have offered, in defence of your Christian 
traditions. You have certainly learned your scheme from your 
friend Caiaphas and the rest of your brethren in Judea. 

The plan of your hierarchy is not likely to last so long as that 
of the Jews; and there is a good reason for it: the Jewish hie- 
rarchy w 7 as once an ordinance of God, but your's never was, nor 
ever can be. Our Saviour, by his death and resurrection, over- 
turned the system of the Pharisees; and, in process of time, he 
will lay all your mitres, my Lords, in the dust. 

I have proved that there is neither precept nor example in the 
Old Testament for men of your order; and have likewise demon- 
strated, that your hierarchy is founded upon the same princi- 
ples of those clergymen who condemned our Saviour. It remains 
that I shew from the New Testament that such an order of men, 
with such authority as you claim, is not to be found in the words 
of Christ, and the writings of his apostles. • 

This may very easily be settled by considering those passages 

of 



20 



SERMON II. 



of the New Testament which have been used to support your 
authority. There is no occasion for the assistance of the fathers 
in this controversy; those old gentlemen were not guided by 
inspiration, and were as ready to err as other men. Your Lord- 
ships must stand the trial of plain Scripture evidence, and stand 
or fall in the opinion of all sober men, as your office and autho- 
rity agrees with, or differs from, this divine law-book. 

In the first place let us inquire into the opinion of our Saviour 
concerning the power of his church, or the power which he 
established therein in matters of faith and religion. The chapter 
-where our text lies expresses his mind pretty plainly with respect 
to the dominion of the clergy : " Be not ye called Rabbi; for one 
is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren and ?• Call 
no man your father upon earth, for one is your Father which is 
in heaven ; neither be ye called masters, for one is your Master, 
even Christ" 

You certainly know, my Lords, that Rabbi was a degree of 
honour among the Jews, to which they annexed no small share 
of jurisdiction. Rabboni was the highest title they had, and 
was of the same signification with my Lord ; it was a title which 
Mary Magdalen gave to our Saviour, John, xx. 16. and implied 
that she honoured him in the highest degree. There were three 
degrees of dignity to which the Jews also connected autho- 
rity; Rabbi, KaSny^TnV, and Rabbon, or Rabban; all which our Sa- 
viour condemns. He condemns the two first in this chapter, 
and for good reasons ; because they assumed power peculiar to 
himself, and made free with his titles. The meaning of the 
word Rabbi among the Jews, at this time, is very plainly pointed 
out by the ceremony of conferring this degree. When a person 
was thought worthy of this dignity, he was placed upon a chair 
raised above the rest of the company, and had a key and a table- 
book delivered to him ; the first was a symbol of his power and 
authority, the latter of his qualification for that honour. The 
key he wore ever afterwards, as a sign to shew who he was, that 
he might not lose any of the honours due to his title. This 
title, in its whole import, our Saviour forbids in his church. The 
second, KaS^^V, which signifies a guide or leader, on whose 
word we may depend, he also forbids; because there are none 
whose words are sufficient to direct Christians, but the words 
of him who is their Lord, or such as he inspired by his Spirit, 
and infallibly guided into all truth. The last he sufficiently 
disapproves, Mark, x. 42: "But Jesus called them unto him 9 
and said unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule 
over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great ones 
exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you; 
for whosoever will be greatest among you, let him be your servant." 
The conclusion which naturally arises from our Saviour's senti- 
ments on this subject is, that your titles of Lord, Father, and 
Doctor, are as expressly forbidden by our Saviour in any church 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 21 

that is bis, as unbelief or, fornication; and while you bold by 
these forbidden honours, you have no scriptural claim to any 
membership in his church. My Lords, the reasoning is plain 
and fair; and, without you deny the words of Jesus Christ, you 
cannot refuse the argument. These are spurious titles, that 
your Reverences assume. If you are Lords in Christ's church, 
pray be so good as shew his authority for your dominion; if you 
are Fathers, shew us those children you have begotten to a lively 
hope by your doctrine ; if you are Masters, be so kind as inform 
us, in what part of the New Testament you find a right to this 
honour. The demand is reasonable, my Lords ; and you ought 
to comply with it for your own sakes. All men have a right to 
question your authority, till you shew that it is established on 
Divine revelation. 

But, perhaps, our Saviour revealed the institution of hierarchy 
to his Apostles afterwards, when he sent the Holy Ghost upon 
the day of Pentecost. Let us then turn over the sacred pages, 
and see if we can light upon this revelation. The first time we 
meet with any word which sounds any thing like episcopacy is 
in Acts, i. 20: " His bishopric let another take" The Greek 
word, 'tmo-KovYiv, signified the office which Judas sustained among 
the Apostles, and from which he fell by his transgression, but 
has no relation to the power and authority of Lords Spiritual. 
Judas has far too many successors, more than all the Apostles 
put together; and I hope your Lordships are not disposed to put 
in your claim among the rest. The word bishopric, in our 
language, signifies the diocese of a Bishop, and not the office; 
but the Greek word here signifies the office which Judas sus- 
tained, which, during our Saviour's life, was to preach the 
gospel, and work miracles. Our Saviour informs us, that there 
was to be no lordships among his disciples; this 'tvurxmrw could 
not then consist of any power that Judas had above the rest 
of the Apostles; for our Lord did not allow that as long as 
he lived, and after his death we never find that ever his Apostles 
claimed any such power. 

But let us proceed to Acts, xx. 28 : " Take heed therefore to 
yourselves, and to the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made 
you overseers, (sTncmoTras) to feed the church of God which he hath 
purchased with his own blood. For I know that after my departing 
shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock." 
There, my Lords, you have the office of a Bishop described from 
a very beautiful comparison : it is to feed the flock as a shepherd 
does his sheep. How is that? He feeds them in his master's 
pastures, according to his commandment. They are his master's 
flock, which he watches over and feeds in those pastuies which 
the master of the sheep hath appointed. This is a laborious 
office, and hath no authority annexed to it, except that of 
feeding the flock where the owner hath appointed. Is there any 
thing like your office in this? Is there any church power here? 

any 



22 



SERMON IL 



any authority to make and impose articles upon the flock of 
Christ? Give the flock of Christ their own food, which the 
great Master hath appointed them ; suffer them to enjoy the 
incorruptible word, which liveth and abideth for ever. Those 
Bishops mentioned in this church of Ephesus were only shep- 
herds ; so many pastors to feed and watch over their respective 
flocks. There is a wide difference between a Shepherd and a 
Lord. The ideas are quite opposite. How would Lord Shep- 
herd sound at court? It is however just as good and true a 
title as my Lord Bishop, and just as plainly pointed out in this 
text. The New Testament is very plain in this point; it needs 
no criticism to find out its meaning. A Christian Bishop is a 
pastor, whose office is to feed his flock with the word of truth. 
You, my Lords, are a strange set of pastors, to feed the flock 
committed to your care by substitutes. How are you sure they 
will take care of them, and feed them in your Master's pastures. 
There is not a farmer in England would allow his shepherds to 
use such freedom with his flocks as to commit the care of them 
to others, that they themselves may trifle and live at ease. The 
Apostle saw your day afar off, and was sad. He speaks of 
grievous wolves entering in, who would not spare the flock. He 
certainly had an eye to those clergy who devour rich livings, but 
seldom or never preach to their people. All that we have found 
is far from being any proof of an hierarchy. 

In the beginning of Paul's Epistle to the Philippians he makes 
mention of Bishops and Deacons. Pray, my Lords, how many 
Diocesan Bishops might there be in this city and its environs? 
for, according to all accounts, it was not very large, nor yet the 
Christians there very numerous. They must certainly have had 
very small livings in those times. But there is one thing which 
the friends of the hierarchy often forget — that the word ecclesia, 
in the New Testament, signifies an assembly of Christians 
meeting in one place, having full authority to discharge all 
religious duties, and perform all acts of discipline. There is 
some reason to conclude, that the Saints, Bishops, and Deacons, 
were but one single congregation ; this will put the friends of the 
Hierarchy to prove, that there were more congregations at 
Philippi than one, otherwise it would render their bishoprics 
very small. It will be an hard task to prove an assembly in this 
city except one; and, till this is done, there is still wanting a 
New-Testament proof for an hierarchy. 

It is time now to proceed to Timothy and Titus, who are said 
to have been Diocesan Bishops. They appear only to have been 
Evangelists sent by the Apostles to set things that were wanting 
in order, and seem to have been altogether under the direction 
of Paul. Ail that they were to deliver was what they had 
received of him as an inspired apostle ; and when they had done 
that, their commission was executed. They ordained bishops 
and deacons, and put these churches in order ; but there is no% 

one 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



23 



one word in all the epistles to these two brethren that implies 
any jurisdiction they had over those churches after they had 
settled church officers amongst them. They went away and 
left them, after they had fulfilled their commission which the 
Apostle gave them. We find them elsewhere travelling with 
Paul, and never hear a single word of their returning to their 
dioceses any more. Timothy was called to Rome, and Titus to 
Dalmatia * ; but there is no account that ever they visited 
Ephesus or Crete any more. It is indeed, alleged, that they 
continued to be Bishops, and carried their episcopal function 
along with them; but it would appear, that they were never 
settled statedly in any place more than the apostles. By looking 
into Titus, i. 5, 6, 7, I find, in the apostle's opinion, that an Elder 
and a Bishop are all one. My Lords, let us read the passage ; it 
is a very plain one: "For this cause have I left thee at Crete, 
that thou mayest set in order the things that are wanting, and 
ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee. If any be 
blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children , not 
accused of riot, or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the 
steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, 
no striker, not given to filthy lucre." It appears exceedingly 
plain to an unlearned reader, that this Elder and Bishop are the 
very same office, and the officers have the very same qualifica- 
tions assigned them. Now these Elders or Bishops, or whatso- 
ever name they may receive, had no power either to ordain, or do 
any thing else without the consent or approbation of the whole 
church. Even when the Apostles were at their head, they never 
pretended to act without the whole church; this sentiment is 
sufficiently plain from Acts, xv. 22: " Then it pleased the Apos- 
tles and Elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their 
own company to Antioch with Barnabas and Saul," &c. It is not 
very likely, my Lords, that Paul would give a power to Timothy 
and Titus to perform episcopal functions, which the whole 
college of Apostles and Elders would not take upon them when 
assembled together. As for the power of ordination, which your 
Reverences claim a sole right to, it is far from being plain that 
you have any more right than the poorest Curate in the king- 
dom ; for it is manifest that the Apostles never claimed it, as you 
do. They ordained Elders in every church ; but then the church 
was present to give their sanction to the deed : it might as well 
have been said, that they ordained Elders to every church, 'if they 
had conceived they had a right to do it. Your Lordships cannot 
be offended when I refuse you your pretended exclusive privilege of 
ordination, when I deny that ever the Apostles had any such au- 
thority. You are not certainly greater than the Apostles of Jesus 
Christ. The Apostles and the churches jointly might ordain 
Elders, or the Apostles and Elders, with the churches where they 



* 2 Tim. iv. 9 ; 20, 24. 



resided, 



to 



SERMON II. 



resided, might likewise do it ; but it does not appear from the 
whole New Testament, that either a single Apostle, or all of them 
together, ordained any Elders without the assistance and consent 
of the churches where they were ordained. The Doctors, per- 
haps, were not thinking or" this negative upon the idol of their 
episcopal power. The Apostle Paul, though he was called of 
God to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, yet received his ordina- 
tion in the church of Antioch, without having the assistance of 
any of the Apostles. Even common teachers were allowed to 
join in this ceremony ; which shews that it was no exclusive 
privilege lodged in the hands of Bishops or Apostles. Some of 
your Lordships' Chaplains, I know, can say a great deal about it 
and about it, on this passage; but plain honest men will easily 
perceive that the Holy Ghost has always paid such a regard to 
the churches, that after they were once organized, he has never 
permitted any officers to proceed without their approbation, 
when transactions were performed within their bounds. 

As 1 have before proved from the Old Testament that your 
hierarchy has no foundation there, so I apprehend that I have 
shewed there is as little foundation for it in the New Testament: 
I shall therefore conclude this discourse. 



SERMON III. 

Matthew, iii. 4. 

For they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay 
them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move 
them with one of their fingers. 

THE burdens which the church lays upon us are like the 
taxes laid on by the government,— -they are seldom removed ; 
and what is worse, there is no mercy to be expected, if we 
will not bear them patiently. Those who deal in religious 
matters, and do not partake of the influence of the gospel, are 
generally more destitute of compassion than rakes and profligates. 
I have seen a poor wretch make an impression on a dissolute 
fellow, who could not pick a farthing from a very wealthy gen- 
tleman in black. The reason why persons of this last character 
are so backward in feeling for their fellow-creatures appears to 
me to be this ; they accustom themselves so frequently to speak 
what they do not believe, and are employed in what they hava 
no affection for, that they render their minds insensible to all 
things where their interest is not concerned. 

I have, in the preceding discourse, demonstrated, that our 

high. 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



S5 



high*priests are true copies of the Jewish Pharisees; and that 
there is no foundation for the hierarchy, either under the ancient 
theocracy, or under the gospel. I shall next endeavour to shew, 
that every kind of earthly supremacy in the church is M a burden 
grievous to be borne. 11 

1. This will appear, a priori, by reasoning from the cause to 
the effect. If we consider the cause of this evil, it is the wicked 
one, who never meant well to the human race. Our Saviour 
affirmed this of the Pharisees : — *" Ye are of your father the devil, 
and the works of your father ye will do 11 By bringing over our first 
parents to notions of hierarchy, he fixed a burden upon them 
and their posterity, which is yet to be felt. It was wicked spite 
in the devil to envy our first parents the happiness they enjoyed 
under the dominion of their Maker: his yoke is never grievous; 
obedience to his laws is the highest liberty. Satan seems to have 
perceived this, and made his attack in such a manner, that if he 
succeeded in his stratagem, he was sure to enslave the human 
race. He put an earthly hierarchy into their head, and persuaded 
them, that if they would obey his injunctions, they should be as 
gods, knowing good and evil. Our foolish first parents believed 
this father of lies, and swallowed the bait which he offered them. 
It is a pleasing idea to be at the head of affairs. Few are able 
to resist a temptation, which in all respects flatters their pride; 
and to be as gods, too, was exceedingly pleasing. By this desire 
of supremacy poor foolish man became a dupe to the artifice of 
an enemy, from whom no good could be expected. This new 
hierarchy has entailed a burden of guilt upon the world, and 
rendered mankind absolute slaves. It is amazing how the same 
snare catches all the children of Adam; for almost all men love 
to be first in directing matters which concern both themselves 
and others. The same principle which made our old father seek 
to be as God, determines his offspring to seek to be as Monarchs 
and Bishops. It was especially a spiritual dominion which the 
deceiver persuaded man to affect; to know good and evil belongs 
to the mind. God is the Supreme Judge in this matter; and to 
seek to attain it in any other way than the channel of his plea- 
sure, is no less a crime than high-treason against the Almighty. 
The Devil is the author of this treason ; for he abode not in the 
truth, but first rebelled against Heaven himself, and then seduced 
man into the same error. If any credit can be given to Milton, 
who seems to have been particularly acquainted with the history 
of Satan, it was the desire of dominion which inclined him tc* 
rebel. He desired to be Archbishop in heaven; and all the reli- 
gious hierarchies have proceeded upon his principles. Milton says, 
that he envied the pre-eminence of the Messiah, whom he found 
that Jehovah was to exalt above all principalities and powers; 
he therefore wanted to supplant him, or at least to share with 
him in dominion. My Lords, you cannot assign a better reason 
for diocesan episcopacy than this, which Milton has suggested. 

E I am 



26 



SERMON lit 



I am almost sorry to pursue this subject, for fear I shall argtie 
downwards till I come to the Bishops. The top of the fabric 
of hierarchy over men's souls was Lucifer; from him it de- 
scended to our first parents ; from them to their son Cain. Nimrod 
is said to have assumed it, and set up the worship of fire, and to 
have imposed the articles of his creed on all who were under his 
jurisdiction, on pain of burning. It came down to Nebuchad- 
nezzar, who set up an idol in the plains of Dura, and obliged all 
to worship it, on pain of death. The Jews seem to have learned 
this principle at Babylon, and brought it home with them to their 
own land ; then it fell into the hands of the High-Priests, 
Scribes, and Pharisees. Diotrephes catched it in the days of the 
Apostles; from him it was carried to Asia and Africa. It pro- 
ceeded westward, and settled for a long time at Rome; but it 
came to England, where it yet remains in the office and temper 
of your Lordships, who bind heavy burdens upon men's shouU 
ders. Grievous is the cause of all hierarchies in matters of reli- 
gion, and hard to be borne. Who would not think it hard to be 
under the jurisdiction of the " Prince of the power of the air, 
the spirit that rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience T y 
This is a grievous burden, my Lords, that men must be obliged 
to submit to a power which has done so much injury to mankind. 
Compare the cause and the effect, and you will find them as like 
one another as children can possibly be like their father. All 
hierarchies in the church enslave the consciences of men, who 
are such fools to submit to them. Satan could not establish his 
hierarchy among the human race till he made them slaves, and 
corrupted their feelings for liberty. He became first lord of 
their faith, and then became master of their passions. The 
devil was the first created being that imposed articles of belief 
upon men; he persuaded them that the Almighty's articles of 
faith which he imposed were not true, and foisted in his own 
falsehood in place of them; he did it by a sort of comment, as 
your Lordships compose articles. " God knows" says the Devil, 
" ye shall not surely die ; hut ye shall be as gods, knowing good 
and evil" This is something like your Thirty-nine Articles ; it 
may be understood more ways than one; it has a double mean- 
ing. There is no doubt but God knew all things concerning life 
or death ; but the Devil did not explain his terms, but played the 
sophist. In a word, he wanted his articles to pass, and did not 
hesitate to play a trick to have them received. If once he could 
obtain credit to his doctrine, he knew his main point was gained ; 
it would be easy to enslave men, if once he had possession of the 
heart. It is with the heart men believe. The meaning of all hu- 
man articles are the same; the intention of them is to bring men 
over to the dominion of the imposers, that they may be their 
masters in things religious. Those who gain their point in this 
particular perform but a devilish trick when they have done. It 
is only doing what Satan has done before them, — forming a scheme 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



27 



to support an hierarchy. The Devil's system of articles was 
5iot all lies neither; there was far too much truth in his doc- 
trine. He said that our first parents should know good and 
evil, if they tasted the forbidden fruit; and so they did with a 
vengeance; they knew themselves ruined by losing the favour 
of their Maker. It was not because Satan's articles were all 
false, that they deserved to have been rejected, but because they 
were substituted in the room of the word of God, in the same 
manner that Bishops impose human articles. Such a man as 
Bishop Burnet, who had a gift of explaining articles, might 
find a sense in which the words of Satan might be taken, that 
any good Churchman might subscribe them. I can assure 
you, my Lords, that there are a number of as lying-like things 
in the Thirty-nine Articles which his Grace has made a shift to 
make look tolerably decent. But all this is sensual and devilish, 
acting the part of Satan, who persuaded man that God's word 
was not sufficient, but needed some additaments. There is not 
the smallest difference between the practice of that old usur- 
per and that of your Lordships, if you consider matters impar- 
tially. It was for the sake of having dominion over men's con- 
sciences that Lucifer imposed his creed ; and for the same rea- 
son you impose your articles. Be not offended at the compari- 
son. The author of hierarchy is of a high extract; he was 
once a principality and power in heaven, though, for usurping 
the place of God, he is now a fallen spirit, and " reserved in 
chains of darkness till the judgment of the great day" There 
is the end of usurping unjust dominion, my Lords; such as the 
cause is, so will the effect be. 

But if we shall argue a posteriori, from the effects to the 
cause, the hierarchy will appear " a burden grievous to be borne" 
As from the smallest pile of grass we may reason up to the 
Deity; so from the lowest branch of an earthly hierarchy in 
religion, we are led to the Devil. This is perhaps not delicate 
enough for the ears of your Lordships; but it is plain, and what 
is more, it is too true. Let us try if we can make this out. 
Have therefore a little patience, and you shall see how soon a 
person who comes into the hands of the church conies to his 
ne plus ultra. For example, he begins with a parish clerk, 
priests, or churchwardens, and refuses to pay for bread he never 
tasted, and wine he never drank. What is the consequence? 
He is next put into the hands of the apparitor; from thence into 
the proctors' in the Spiritual Court; he is judged by the Chan- 
cellor, without a jury of his peers, at last excommunicated and 
delivered to the devil; so that it is manifest that there is but 
one step between your Lordships and Satan. This is a short 
way of landing in the hands of the tormentor. Whatever part 
of the hierarchy we begin at, our last stage is at the Devil, 
unless we submit in all things to our ghostly guides. This is a 
" burden grievous to be borne" Whether we move upwards or 

downward^ 



28 



SERMON III. 



downwards,, we are oppressed, and troubles await us every 
where, while we are under the dominion of high-priests. It is 
a fearful thing to fall into their hands. Chamberlayne tells 
ns, " That if a man refuses to answer, or otherwise to satisfy the 
court, he is excommunicated, or excluded from the church ; or 
if not from the church, yet from the communion of the Lord's 
Supper ; is disabled to be plaintiff in a suit at law," &c. If a man 
does not satisfy the court, which your Lordships know is not 
easily done, he is presently deprived of a right to live; and if he 
happens to die under the sentence of the clerical court, he is 
denied a Christian burial, and left in the hands of the Devil. 
Lord have mercy on us! What a burden is this, and grievous to 
be borne 1 The honestest man in the world may land in hell after 
this fashion, provided your sentences stand ratified. 

I have shewed, by reasoning from the cause to the effect, and 
from the effect to the cause, that a temporal hierarchy in spiri- 
tual things is " a burden grievous to be borne." I shall now con- 
clude with some improvement of the subject. 

It will appear manifest, from what has been said, that your 
Lordships ought to be servants in the church, and not lords 
over God's heritage; that you ought to lay aside the Articles, 
those badges of Popery, and all the fopperies of that Antichris- 
tian hierarchy which you still retain. When you know that 
many of your clergy want to be eased of these burdens, you 
ought to grant them relief. You are holding a power which is 
not founded in right, and which, at best, is tyranny, and dis- 
graceful to human nature. There can be no real glory in shack- 
ling the consciences of your fellow men and brethren. It is the 
glory of the saints of the other world to cast down their crowns 
before the throne of the Lamb. Throw away your mitres, my 
Lords, and become plain ministers; your livings will be then 
better bestowed upon you, and you yourselves will be more 
useful. It is not long before they shall drop from your brows, 
aud your honour shall be laid in the dust. You now claim 
honours like gods ; but " ye shall die like men, and fall like one of 
the people.' 1 Suffer the word of exhortation, and listen to it. 
There is more truth in what has been said than you are aware 
of. Allow your consciences to speak, and listen to their admoni- 
tions. The King of kings comes to reward every one according 
to their works. It will be a solemn day, my Lords; you never 
saw the like of it at court. Before his face the heavens and 
the earth shall flee away; He shall sit on the throne of his glory, 
and before him shall be gathered all nations: Kings and Bishops 
shall he there; your justum et tenacem propositi virum, which 
hath endured the civium ardor prava jubentium. Your obstinacy 
in refusing the just demands of your brethren will not support 
you when the heavens are on fire. I think I hear you say, 

" Si fractus illabatur orbis, 
Impavidos ferient ruinae." 

It 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



It will not do, my Lords, You never saw any thing like this 
solemnity. The Apostle John says," The books shall be opened " 
the books of your spiritual courts, the books of conscience, and 
the books of divine revelation. Not a secret shall be hidden. 
You stare! but you shall find it true. What has long been hid 
shall be made manifest, clear as a sun-beam. You have had 
your good things in this life. It would hardly be reasonable to 
give any more. Remember the rich man, my Lords. Ah! he 
had his good things, as you have now, in this life, and little 
thought of another world; but he died, and so must you: after 
death there is a judgment. This your Lordships will perhaps 
think too grave discourse for men in high life, who are accus- 
tomed to courtly phraseology, There is nothing mean in this, 
my Lords; it is even worthy of a Bishop's consideration; and 
whether you think so or not, you will find it true. 

We may see, from what has been said, that there is not a 
clergyman in Great Britain can vindicate your hierarchy without 
perverting the Scriptures. All your advocates shew evident 
marks of distress, when they attempt to plead your cause. 
Their arguments are forced and unnatural, and carry no evidence 
along with them; they may confuse weak minds, but will have 
small influeuce upon men of understanding. All their criticism 
on Greek words, and their quotations from the fat hers, shew how 
they are pinched to make out their arguments. They would do 
better to follow nature, and speak plainly. Your cause is 
tolerably well understood at this day; few believe in their con- 
sciences that the hierarchy is a divine institution: but it has, my 
Lords, what is - more engaging to flesh and blood to support 
it, large yearly incomes, and acts of parliament. These will 
serve for a season to support you against all rational conviction, 
and you will take all the rest to a longer day. My Lords, I do 
not envy you your good things; but it is hard you should glory 
in holding men under your lash. Let us have a toleration to 
serve God according to the dictates of our own consciences 
without molestation, and we shall ask no more. You might, 
my Lords, suffer the bill for the relief of Dissenters to pass 
without opposition, for it can do you no good to oppose it; but 
whether you do or not, it will give them small concern, provided 
you let them alone. Before we part, my Lords, let us pray : 
May all church hierarchy soon be laid in the dust, and all human 
articles demolished ; — may we have the word of God for the sole 
articles of our faith, and honest teachers to put us in nimd of our 
duty ;— may our faith be free, and our love unfeigned ; — may we 
serve the one Lord, and obey him from the heart; — may your 
Lordships obtain repentance and remission of sins; — and may we 
all rejoice in one another's happiness. Am/en* 



SERMON 



30 



SERMON IV. 



SERMON IV. 

1 Timothy, iii. 2, 3. 

^4 Bishop must be blameless, apt to teach, not given to filthy 
lucre, not covetous, §c. 

MY Lords, these are qualifications rarely to be found among 
Bishops. It is an high character to be blameless, and is 
seldom to be found upon the sacerdotal bench. Your Lordships 
will, before we proceed, please to consider the scripture idea of 
a Bishop; and I must direct your attention to the opinion of 
one who knew well the meaning of the word Bishop, Titus, by 
your church, is said to have been ordained the first Bishop of 
theCretians; and Paul says to him, " For this cause have I left 
thee at Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are 
wanting, and ordain Elders in every church, as I had appointed 
thee: if any man be blameless-, for a Bishop must be blameless, as 
the steward of God" The Apostle Paul affirms, that a Bishop 
and an Elder are the same office. There is not one word of a 
Bishopric or a Diocese here. At this time clerical jurisdiction 
and large temporalities were unknown in the Christian church. 
But to proceed to consider the sentiments which are manifestly 
contained in the text and its connexion, it must be observed, in 
the first place, that a bishop who is blameless must have the 
characters recommended by the Apostle: " He must be the 
husband of one wife;" which intimates that young, vain, light 
men are not fit to be Elders or Bishops in a New Testament 
church; and that they ought to be persons who neither live in 
polygamy, nor devote themselves to celibacy, contrary to nature. 
It is not to be supposed, my Lords, that men who live as you, 
in luxury and voluptuousness, can remain chaste, without the 
use of that appointment which the Lord of the church has insti- 
tuted to keep her members holy. Before a man is preferred to 
so many thousands of yearly income, it is but reasonable he 
should do some service to the state, and maintain a family like 
other Christians. The Apostle recommends a wife to every 
Bishop; and it appears to be a task that will greatly pinch the 
critics to prove that any man has a right to the office of a Bishop 
while he remains unmarried. The words of the Apostle are 
both explicit and express: " a Bishop must be the husband of 
one wife." It is a fair inference from the text, that such Bishops 
as are unmarried are not blameless. It is manifestly contrary to 
the express words of the Apostle, to prefer men to offices in the 
church, who behave expressly contrary to the express letter of 
the Scripture. 

There 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



31 



There is one positive idea expressed in the context, and that is, 
that a Bishop must work. He must not remain idle in the churcb, 
nor devour livings, without discharging the duties which belong 
to the enjoyment thereof. The Apostle knew of no sinecures in 
his day ; all those Bishops whom he authorized were working 
Bishops, men who applied themselves to the work ©f the ministry, 
and were obliged to be diligent in serving the church. 

My Lords, you cannot prove that any New-Testament bishops 
hired curates or chaplains to perform the drudgery work of the 
church, and remained idle themselves. The writings of the 
Apostles suggest not the least hint concerning a substitute: those 
elders performed their work in propria persona, and did not, like 
you, serve the Lord by proxy. The idea of substitutes in reli- 
gious exercises is merely a creature of civil government, and 
belongs to the kingdoms of this world. You cannot find it in 
all the New Testament. You therefore ought in conscience 
to renounce it, seeing you have no authority for it in all the 
Scriptures. 

The Apostle Paul was a Bishop ; but he wrought hard and 
lived meanly; his house was hired, and the churches supported 
him by their private bounties: and, my Lords, he sometimes 
wrought with his hands, that he might not be burdensome. Wher- 
ever the Apostles went, they always preached the gospel, and 
instructed the churches as ministers of Jesus Christ. I wish I 
could say as much for your Lordships. You would think your- 
selves disgraced to preach to a poor country audience. But, to 
say the truth, you seldom preach at all, except before the court, 
or his Majesty, and as seldom in that way as possible. You 
practise as if the Apostle had said, He that desires the office of 
a Bishop desires a good benefice; for it appears to be the sole 
object of your attention. Your zeal for tythes demonstrates 
this fact: were your zeal for the success of religion as conspi- 
cuous, perhaps the public would think the expence better be- 
stowed; but seeing you do not work, the generality of the na- 
tion think you ought to eat less. And now that we have come 
to this point, it may not be beside the purpose to settle the sub- 
ject of tythes before we proceed to consider the other characters 
of a Christian Bishop, and see how far you are to blame in this 
particular. This subject is a tender one, and some will think 
that it should be touched gently ; but, my Lords, we must just 
take it as it is, and discuss it the best way we can. You hold 
your right to tythes either jure divino ox jure humano. If you 
hold them by the first tenure, this right must be somewhere 
to be found in the New Testament; for what is said concern- 
ing them under the law refers to a system which is long ago 
abolished. You pretend to be the successors of the Apostles, 
and not of the Jewish priesthood, and ought therefore to behave 
like your predecessors. Let us see what were their claims con- 
cerning tythes, They happen to put in no claim at all, and for 

a good 



32 



SERMON IV. 



a good reason, — because the law concerning tythes was changed 
by the coming of the true High-Priest. Hear what the Apostle 
says upon this subject, Heb. vii. 12: "For the priesthood being 
changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law ; for 
he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of 
which no man gave attendance at the altar'' Alas, my Lords! 
here are Tythes, Altars, and Priests, demolished at once. The 
Apostle even defies you to prove your own existence as priests 
under the gospel. This is a most merciless argument in favour 
of tythes. The law concerning them is changed, and has no 
longer any force upon Christians. 

But perhaps it may be said, the Apostles lived under a govern- 
ment which was not Christian, where there was no connexion 
between the church and the state, and could not put in their 
claim for tythes for want of an alliance with the civil powers. 
But how could they have put in such a claim when the law was 
changed? This would have been to claim what they had no 
right to; for the right depended upon a divine law, which is now 
changed by an act of the Legislator who gave it at first. But had 
tythes been of divine right, it is not reasonable to suppose but 
divine providence would have allowed the first believers a share 
thereof, as well as those who now pretend to be their successors, 
and have exhibited a pattern for future ages to practise by. For 
although the Apostles might not have it in their power to claim 
tythes from the Roman powers, yet had tythes been of divine 
right, they would certainly have claimed them from Christians, 
or at least left some hints that th?y were to be paid in some 
future period. But they say nothing concerning them, except 
that the law which related to them was laid aside and 
changed. 

But seeing they are not of divine right, let us see how far they 
may be lawfulj&re humano. I am sorry, my Lords, that in the 
very beginning of this argument, you are obliged to set the laws 
of your church and the laws of the New Testament in direct 
opposition to one another; for if tythes are contrary to divine 
laws, no human authority can make them lawful. The Apostle 
says, the law is changed by the coming of Christ; and you have 
invented a succedaneum to supply its place. Is not this Substi- 
tuting a human invention in the church, in the place of an abo- 
lished statute, contrary to the meaning of the Legislator? But 
suppose you hold your right to tythes by the laws of the land, — 
laws that were formed several centuries ago; then it is evident, 
that those laws couid secure nothing to you except what was 
then taken into the idea of tythes. The various improvements 
in agriculture were not understood by the ancient laws concerning 
tythes. There are many things which you claim the tythe of, 
which were not then known, and could be no object of those 
laws; therefore your claim is unjust, because it is founded upon 
no law* There are many exotics which would never have grown 

in 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



in British soil, if the industry of ingenious men had not brought 
them from foreign parts, and cultivated them at a great expence. 
Those wilds, which gentlemen and farmers have cultivated, 
would never have brought any tythes to the church, had not the 
substance of those industrious persons been expended to cultivate 
aud manure them ; and is it reasonable that men who have not 
expended one farthing in the improvement should reap the fruits 
of other men's substance and industry? It certainly could never 
be the meaning of a rational law to hinder the progress of im- 
provement of lands by agriculture, which the laws concerning 
tythes must do, as they are at present applied ; for what man 
will ever spend his substance in improving waste grounds, when 
he knows that others, of whom he is by no means advantaged, 
will come in for a share of the profits, and demand a dividend 
of ali he hath gained by much toil, industry, and expence? It 
is more than the clergy have any right to, from any advantage 
they are to the public, or service to the government; for it is 
manifest that the subjects are as wise and as loyal where they 
are taught by teachers which are supported by their own bounty, 
as those who are instructed by the tythe gentry. My Lords, it 
is shameful for men who profess to direct others in the ways of 
truth and righteousness to give such examples of oppression 
and injustice. Your tythes were established in times of Popery, 
and are mere fragments of Popish tyranny and superstition. It 
is time to give them up, and accept of a modus which may be 
competent to support you like other Christians. If you carry 
this point too far, the time may come when a root-and-branch: 
law may shake the pillars of your hierarchy, and lay your mitres 
in the dust. When once the lay part of the nation seriously 
consider this point, they will find means to have themselves 
instructed in religion at a less expence, and enjoy the fruits of 
their possessions without having them decimated by the clergy. 

When I consider the doctrine of tythes, as claimed by the laws 
of the land, it suggests to me an expedient to remove them. 
They are not essential to the English constitution, and may be 
removed without the smallest infringement of Magna Charta. 
There have been many laws made of late years, which have had 
more the appearance of encroachments upon the constitution of 
England than one for altering tythes. May not the legislature 
interpose, and give us new tythe laws, more advantageous for 
the welfare of the nation? Your Lordships will say, Stop 
there; consider how you will carry such a law through the 
House of Peers. True, my Lords; it is a difficult point, and 
will require some time; the nation must be made ripe for it : 
but when that time comes, twenty-six votes will not prevent it. 
You have no remedy except one, to prevent a bill for a new 
tythe law, and that is, to encourage a general dissipation of the 
age, and promote ignorance; which, for the most part, you do. 
But, in all this, are you blameless? do you answer the character 

F of 



34 



SERMON IV. 



of Christian Bishops, and pay proper attention to what the 
Spirit says to the churches? You pretend to be spiritual men, 
and assume very splendid and high titles. Lords Spiritual is a 
magnificent character ; it sounds high, and is vastly flattering ; 
but when you are not possessed of the apostolical qualifications 
of a Bishop, all men of understanding must despise you. Were 
it not that I know how hard it is to commend truth to 
the consciences of men of your character, I would address 
your consciences, and commend truth to you in the sight 
of God. I would say, that you are miserable sinners, who 
make void the word of God through your traditions; who 
impose your own inventions, instead of the appointments of 
Christ and his apostles ; who love to be called of men Rabbi, 
and are pleased with greetings in the markets ; who eat the fat, 
and devour the weak, of the flock of Jesus Christ; who delight 
4n the honours of the kingdoms of this world, and despise the 
true glory of Christian Bishops ; who bind heavy burdens, and 
grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, and will 
not touch them with one of your fingers. For all these things 
you shall receive the greater condemnation. Condemnation, my 
Lords, is a hard word, and what you are but seldom accustomed 
to hear; but your hearts, in your grave moments, must condemn 
you; and God is greater than your hearts, and will also condemn 
you. I wish you would consider how empty are your honours ! 
how dangerous your present situation 1 Remember, that a Bishop 
must be blameless : ye are far from answering that pure charac- 
ter. Your very office, as Diocesan Bishops, is unscriptural and 
impure : your titles, as Lords Spiritual, are sinful ; they are 
heathenish signatures of honour, unworthy of Christians; for 
our Saviour has declared, they " shall not be among his disciples."* 
It is a dreadful thought, an't please your Reverences ; for it 
plainly implies that you are none of his disciples. No lordship 
or dominion can ever prevail among them, without giving our 
Saviour the lie, who hath said expressly, " It shall not be so among 
you, 1 * You see the alternative, my Lords; you must either give 
up your honours, and become Christians, or rank with Heathens, 
and remain unbelievers. All who believe the doctrines of the 
New Testament must consider you as Heathens, while you as- 
sume lordship, sit in parliament, and receive honours of men 
and one another. You smile; but the subject is grave: — there is 
a period to come will spoil your mirth, and suggest grave senti- 
ments to your minds. The King of kings will come to bring all 
men to an account; and those who should have been stewards of 
God must then settle all their reckonings. It is an awful thought, 
end therefore I shall conclude this discourse. 

• MattKxx. 26. 



SERMON 



V. 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 35 



SERMON V. 

1 Timothy, iii. 2, 3. 

A Bishop must be blameless, given to hospitality, apt to teach, 
not greedy of filthy lucre, not covetous. 

T> LAMELESS ! It would be a happy thing for Bishops, as well 
as for the nation, if they only but half fulfilled this charac- 
ter. It was observed, that it belongs to the office of a Bishop to 
work; those who bear this office are not to be idle, otherwise 
they are to blame. Let us inquire into the work and employ- 
ment of a Christian Elder, or Bishop, and see, my Lords, how- 
far you are blameless, or guilty : — and as I mean to keep strictly 
to the Scriptures, I hope your Lordships will give serious 
attention. 

1. A Bishop must preach the word;* the word of revelation is 
to be the substance of their preaching. Bishops must publish to 
the churches what has been before taught by Moses, the Prophets, 
our Saviour, and his Apostles: they are not left to pursue their 
own devices, nor to teach men the dreams of their own imagina- 
tions; but to keep strictly to the word of truth. They must 
work in the Scriptures, collect the various truths therein con- 
tained, and exhibit them to the view of all who hear them. 
The simple truths in the Scriptures need only to be fairly told, 
and represented in their own native simplicity, to produce the 
effects they were intended for. There is no occasion for the 
trappings of human oratory to recommend the truths of the 
gospel, my Lords; they need only to be toid. The Greek word 
Kr,fv<T<ru y signifies to publish, or proclaim, as a herald or crier does 
a proclamation : you have nothing to do, but to publish the glad 
tidings of heaven to sinners, and leave the consequence to the 
Almighty. The importance of the preacher adds nothing to the 
word which is preached. A Right Reverend Father in God 
has no more authority in preaching than the meanest Curate. 
The words that are spoken alone are fit to fulfil their own inten- 
tion. All the fine periods of a Tillotson, joined with the swag- 
gering theatrical buffoonery of Whitefield, will ever be insuffi- 
cient to reform the heart of a sinner, or to convert any wicked 
person from the evil of his way. 

Preaching is a work which requires much labour and industry; 
the Bishop must bring out of the treasure of revelation things 
new and old ; must declare the ancient ways of God to man, in 
shewing mercy to the worthless in all ages, and the new dis- 
plays of his grace and favour, in continuing his loving-kindness 

* 2 Tim. iv. 2. 

to 



so 



SERMON V. 



to those that know him. This work does not consist in pre* 
paring a stiff formal discourse, forged in a closet, and picked out 
of a number of musty sermons, on purpose to be presented at 
St. James's, as a propine for the court. This, my Lords, is dry 
work, and exceedingly unprofitable for men. The New-Testa- 
ment overseers do not serve the Lord with that which costs 
them nothing; they search the Scriptures, and from the abun- 
dance of that treasure enrich the minds of others: *' Out of 
Moses and all the Prophets, in all the Scriptures, they shew the 
things which concern Jesus Christ." This requires reading of the 
true sort for a Bishop, and will serve the wisest man that ever 
lived to ponder his whole life-time. The most perfect and 
rational knowledge is to be found in the word of God ; for it 
teaches us what God is to us, and what are our duties to him, 
which to know is of infinite importance to all men. 

The word of God exhibits a grand and glorious reason of hope 
for guilty men. It declares that God is reconciled to sinners on 
account of the work of his Son ; and that, on account thereof, 
God is just when he justifies the ungodly. It proclaims this as 
the sole foundation of a sinner's hope before the Almighty ; and 
declares, that all who are persuaded of this truth will be careful 
to maintain good works. It shews us what we can do, and 
what we cannot do, in matters of religion. It fully manifests 
that we all can do more than we are disposed to do; and yet 
that our most perfect performances are not sufficient to acquit 
us in the sight of one who knows our hearts. From the word of 
God we are informed, that those who would enter into life must 
keep the commandments; and yet it also shews, that there was 
never any, except the man Christ Jesus, who did so. From hence 
it is manifest, that it is impossible for any man, under the in- 
fluence of sin and prejudice, to please God ; and that, in this 
grand point, our hopes of forgiveness must rest upon the atone- 
ment of Jesus Christ; and that, even in this, revelation declares 
that the law is not dishonoured, but magnified; that it is not 
Antinomianism to trust to the obedience of Christ for our ac- 
ceptance with God ; for if this were the case, all the apostles 
were Antinomians. But, my Lords, if plain Scripture will not 
offend you, I will present to you a few passages to prove the 
above observat ions : — " For all have sinned, and come short of 
the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace, through the 
redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath before ordained 
to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righ- 
teousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbear- 
ance of God; to declare at this time his righteousness: that he 
might be just, and the justijier of them that believe in Jesus. Where 
is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay; 
but by the law of faith. Therefore ice conclude that a man is 
justified by faith without the deeds of the law*" — " For if righ- 

* Rom. iii. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. 

teousness 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



37 



teousncss came by the law, then is Christ dead in vain *."-—" But 
that no man is justified by the works of the law in the sight of God, 
it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not 
of faith : but, The man that doeth them shall live in them, 
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a 
curse for us\" If you do not teach these doctrines, which are 
so clearly set down by the apostles, you are not blameless, and 
ought not to be bishops. 

2. Bishops must watch; they must watch every opportunity 
of edifying those whom they are appointed to oversee. For 
this reason it is required that they be present where their work 
is. The command is, " Be instant in season, and out of season" 
The Greek word signifies to be near at hand-, which supposes 
that a Christian Bishop should remain upon the spot where his 
work is ; for how can a man watch over a church where he is 
not present among the members? Non-residence was not known 
amongst the Apostolic Bishops, except when they were called by 
the Apostles to assist them in some important work. A Christian 
Bishop is like one upon his guard, who must keep his post, and 
not desert it; and his charge is like that of a shepherd over a 
flock, which requires his presence and attendance. All the 
New-Testament Elders had the cure of souls; and we read not 
of one sinecure in the whole of the Apostolic writings. If there 
is any such thing as responsibleness in the office of a Bishop, 
how can those expect to render a fair account to God of those 
souls which they commit to the care of other men, with whom 
they are very little acquainted. But, my Lords, you perhaps 
imagine, that rule and government is all that pertain to your 
office; and that when you appoint sufficient persons to take 
care of the churches, you are no further accountable. But this 
is altogether problematical; for a Bishop cannot be blameless, 
unless he teach those over whom he is appointed overseer. 

This duty extends to the Bishop himself : he must watch 
over himself; take care that his pride, or his other passions, do 
not mislead him, or make him do either more or less than Di- 
vine authority requires. Men who are advanced to authority, 
if they are not humble, will be ready to stretch themselves be- 
yond their commission, and seek to tyrannize over the members 
of the church : and the higher that their ideas of power are, the 
greater will their tyranny be. It is necessary, on this account, 
that Bishops be watchful over themselves, lest, being puffed up 
with pride, they fall into the temptation of the Devil. 

I observed that Bishops ought to watch, lest they do more or 
less than is required of them by the word of God. To pretend 
to do what is not required in revelation, is equally absurd with 
coming short, and equally sinful. Those works of supererogation, 
which the Bishops of all established churches have substituted 



* Gal. ii. 21. f Gal. iii. 11, 12, 13. 

in 



38 



SERMON V. 



in the place of divine ordinances, are none of the smallest of 
their provocations: and those clergymen who assume the office 
of Bishops ought carefully to watch, lest they vend their own 
nostrums for divine institutions. 

But watching, in Scripture, is set in opposition to idleness; it 
implies a propensity of mind to one's duty, and supposes an 
actual fulfilment of the office which a person engages in. To 
be watchful supposes that a Christian Bishop attends to all the 
parts of his office, as it respects the glory of God, and the hap- 
piness of the souls of men. Instead of watching the levee of 
princes, and cringing at court for worldly preferment, a New- 
Testament Bishop watches every opportunity to instruct man- 
kind in the truths of the Christian religion, and the duties of 
morality. Instead of imitating 1 the great men of this world in 
pride and ambition, a Christian Bishop will study to imitate 
Jesus Christ in humility, meekness, and love; and will with 
patience watch every occasion to " condescend to men of low 
degree. 11 My Lords, poor people have seldom access to your 
presence ; and you study on all occasions to avoid having any 
intercourse with the vulgar. You no sooner remove your hands 
from their heads upon the day of confirmation, than you give 
them up, and, with a watchfulness becoming your dignity, avoid 
baving any thing to do with them ever after ; unless, by some 
misfortune, they chance to come into the Spiritual Court, and 
then you watch over them with a vengeance. 

3. A Bishop must feed the flock of God over whom he is 
made a Bishop. This is an Apostolic injunction,* and ought, 
my Lords, to be seriously considered. The souls of men need 
nourishment as well as their bodies; and the gospel which you 
ought to preach has made ample provision for the spirits as well 
as for the mortal part of the members of the church. Divine 
truth is the food of the mind, which ought to be made known 
to men, on purpose to be food for their souls. When our minds 
are entertained with the true and certain hopes of a blessed im- 
mortality, upon principles consistent with the revealed character 
of the Almighty, and rejoice in the hope of that glory which 
is promised to be revealed in the sons of God, they may be said 
to be nourished. And the evidence of mental nourishment is 
improvement in pure sentiments, which discover themselves by 
obedience to God's law, and love to all mankind. A Bishop 
must feed his flock, or nourish the minds of his hearers with 
heavenly truth, preach the word of salvation as it is revealed in 
the word of God, and lay aside all conjectures concerning eternal 
life which are not taught in the sacred oracles. The old story 
concerning doing and living by the works of the law, the gospel 
has altogether set aside; and God, of his mercy, has given us a 
better hope, established upon the death of his own Son. This, my 



* Acts, xx, 28-. 



Morels, 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



39 



Lords, is the true basis of morals to Christian men, who are con- 
strained by the love of Jesus Christ; and they shew that their 
souls are nourished by the truths of the gospel, by their sincere 
atachment to every moral duty. It will, perhaps, surprise your 
Lordships to hear it affirmed, that all such as have the good hope 
of forgiveness through the atonement of Jesus Christ are the 
most remarkable for strictness of conversation and purity of life; 
for, suppose they do not obey God on purpose to be saved, they 
obey him from a more noble and more powerful principle. 
They do his will because he is gracious, merciful, and f ull of 
compassion, — because he has sent Jesus Christ to redeem them 
by his obedience unto the death ; — and, if your Reverences 
please, they obey him because they love him. That idea which 
rules in the tenor of your printed sermons concerning good works 
overturns at. once the whole system of Christianity. You 
suppose an effect without a cause, which is a thing impossible; 
and require sinners to work for salvation, without considering 
that aversion they have against truth. I shall suppose a case, 
which is no way impossible, that his present Majesty should 
promise to make Momus a Bishop, upon condition that he 
should translate Sanchoniathon, or write a version of Homer a 
degree better than that of Mr. Pope, when Momus could only 
read prayers, and did not understand a word either of the Phoe- 
nician or Greek languages; — when, a'nt please your Lordships, 
would Momus come to the enjoyment of his bishopric? This, 
you will perhaps say, would be an unreasonable task, and at the 
first so frightful, that no person in such a case would engage in 
it. True, my Lords; but the gentleman might have minded his 
books when he was at school, and the thing would have been both 
possible and probable. You must perceive, my Lords, that if 
Momus must have a bishopric, he must receive it speciali gratia , 
and not by works. There are several things in the law of God, 
which if a sinner must do on purpose to obtain forgiveness, or 
enjoy the Divine favour, are as difficult for persons under that 
character to perform, as for an unlearned man to translate 
Homer or Sanchoniathon, The very notion of requiring a thing 
that is impossible tends to create, in the minds of the person of 
whom it is required, an aversiou against the task, and a disgust 
at the person who requires it. When you, therefore, tell your 
hearers or readers that they must do something to be justified, 
and their own hearts inform them that it is a task beyond their 
power, must not this very thought create an antipathy against 
that law which requires impossibilities, and form in the minds 
of sinners a stronger aversion against the truth. 

It will be but poor nourishment for the souls of men, to inform 
them that they must perform what their own experience and 
the Scriptures have told them it is not in their power to fulfil. 
The Apostles fed the flock of God in another manner; they 
taught sinners and the churches, that God was just when he jus- 
tified 



40 



SERMON V. 



titled the ungodly; and that it was not for works of righteousness 
which sinners performed, but according to his mercy he saved 
them: — and yet, after they had instructed men in those doctrines, 
we do not find that they became more deficient in morals than 
others, but rather became examples of good works, and true 
imitators of Jesus Christ. My Lords, there were in those days 
a set of men who went about to establish their own righteous- 
ness; and what was the consequence? they did not attain to that 
righteousness which pleased God. Instead of submitting to the 
gospel account of righteousness, they contrived a traditional scheme 
of their own, which excluded the true notion of divine righ- 
teousness; the consequence of all which was, they perverted the 
law of God, and substituted their own dogmas in the room of 
divine appointments. Instead of feeding' the flock with th'e 
truths of his own word, they imposed their vain traditions upon 
those who were under their jurisdictions, and cursed them 
soundly when they woukl not receive them. 

The idea of feeding the flock of God suggests another senti- 
ment to your Lordships ; and it is that of feeding the hungry, 
and clothing the naked. Your large benefices afford you an 
opportunity of feeding a great number of hungry Christians. 
Twelve or fifteen thousand pounds will go a great way. By 
the assistance of the Deans and Prebendaries, your Lordships 
might afford near ^100,000 per annum for the relief of the 
poor, and yet leave yourselves sufficient to support a Christian 
life. It would have a great effect upon the poor, and make them 
receive your advice, with more readiness. But, to give your Lord- 
ships a little rest before we proceed to consider the other quali- 
fications of Christian Bishops, I shall conclude this Discourse, 
and say, Amen. 



SERMON VI. 

1 Timothy, iii. S. 

A Bishop must be blameless, given to hospitality, apt to teach, ?wt 
greedy of filthy lucre, not covetous. 

HOSPITALITY, my Lords, is a scriptural qualification of a 
Bishop; and, without being given or inclined to the practice 
thereof, no person has a right to that office. G*Xo|ew>? signifies a 
lover of strangers, or persons who can be on of advantage by 
either their interest or favour to a Bishop. Its primitive signifi- 
cation was expressed by the practice of the first Christians and 
their Bishops. When strangers came recommended by other 

Christian 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



41 



Christian churches to the elders and members of any distant 
church, they were received by the overseers and members 
thereof with as much love and affection as if they were residenters 
among them; they were kept free of all expeuces while they 
staid, and sec forward in their travels by the pastors and members 
of the churches wherever they came. 

This duty is more especially recommended to Bishops, be- 
cause they ought to be examples to others, to stir them up to 
humanity and brotherly kindness. In such a wealthy church as 
that in which your Lordships have the honour to be Bishops, , 
there is much in your power, and much to be expected at your 
hands. If you are Christians, hospitality will be your study; you 
will be given to it, and practise it constantly. It is a noble feeling 
which arises from the reflection of doing good to others, espe- 
cially the distressed. The chief objects of Christian hospitality 
are the poor: to those your Lordships ought to be kind, for the 
sake of Him who came to save them, and who, during his residence 
here on earth, was poor himself, and shewed a peculiar regard 
to the poor, " that we through his poverty might be made rich" 

Your Lordships must undoubtedly know that it is not hospi- 
tality to entertain the rich ; and those elegant entertainments 
which are to be met with at the tables of modern Bishops dsserve 
rather the name of luxury than hospitality. It is not hospitality 
to entertain Dukes, Lords, and Gentlemen ; for those are abun- 
dantly able to entertain themselves. The precept extends to the 
poor, who in equity have a claim upon all persons of substance 
for supply, especially upon you who have large benefices, and 
ought, according to your profession, to live moderately. The 
expence of your tables and retinue is altogether superfluous; it 
may waste your substance, and shorten your lives, but can do 
you no real service. How much more pleasure would you have 
in feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked?— And mind, 
my Lords, that " he who giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord ; 
and that which he giveth he will repay him again." If the words 
of our Saviour can have any weight with the successors of the 
Apostles, I shall set before you the true method of hospitality, 
as recommended by himself: — " When thou makest a dinner or a 
supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor 
thy rich neighbours ; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence 
be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the 
maimed, the blind : and thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot 
recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection 
of the just."* There, my Lords, is a very simple and plain method 
of hospitality, which is worthy of your serious consideration ; it 
is reasonable and judicious, and the authority enjoining it is of 
the highest nature. You dare not presume to say, that our 
Lord's authority is not sufficient to authenticate this practice of 



* Luke, xiv. 42, 13, U. 

G 



hospitality, 



4<2 



SERMON VI. 



hospitality. Why then is it not observed by such as call them- 
selves his disciples ? The alternative is plain; you must either 
give up all claim to the character of Christian Bishops, or prac- 
tise this divine scheme of hospitality. But the resurrection of 
the just, you will say, is long credit: but it is sure ; the word of 
the faithful and true Witness will never deceive. It is all you 
have for the foundation of your hope of salvation ; and if you 
Test the expectation of your future happiness upon the word of 
our Lord, why may you not trust him with the recompence of 
your hospitality? If he shall pay you in spiritual happiness for 
the good you do to his poor children, you will be well re- 
compensed. 

It is amazing, my Lords, that our Saviour has not required 
the smallest degree of your temporalities, without promising you 
better things at the resurrection of the just. The very changing of 
those vile bodies of your's, which you are so anxious to pamper 
in this life, will be of far more value than all your benefices, 
though you should part with them all;— and to have them fashi- 
oned like to Christ's glorious body, is an amazing privilege. Ah, 
my Lords, we seldom hear of any of your rank engaged in this 
noble Christian practice. There are many accounts of grand 
entertainments at your several palaces, when many noblemen and 
dignified clergymen are present, who devour as much in one day 
as would supply the wants of many poor hungry Christians for a 
month. This, by some of your friends, is accounted hospitality ; 
but it deserves another name — you should call it rioting and 
drunkenness, chambering and wantonness. But lest I should offend 
you or your friends with Scripture phraseology, I shall call it 
great luxury , — luxury, the bane of the age, and of which you, 
my Lords, are the most notable examples. The poor, the 
halt, and the maimed, are cloistered up in poor houses and hos- 
pitals, as if they belonged to another class of beings, and treated 
with all the austerity and disrespect that ignorant overseers and 
haughty churchwardens please to exercise over them : — and 
Sirs, they seldom or never have the pleasure of your visitation. 

There is a maxim concerning true and undefiled religion given 
by an Apostle, which all Bishops ought to remember " Pure 
and undefiled religion is to visit the ividow and the fatherless in 
their affliction" and it is added, and to keep yourselves un- 
spotted from the world." Your Lordships seldom observe this 
maxim. It is a pity, my Lords ; for it is a noble one, and worthy 
of every Christian's attention. It is a glorious hospitality to re- 
lieve distress, and make glad the hearts of the poor; it is god- 
like, and worthy of Chris' ian Bishops. " Be ye merciful, as 
your Father in Heaven is merciful." Could you desire a more 
excellent pattern? You certainly say, No: but why do you 
not imitate it? Your religious character obliges you to the 
practice thereof, and your large benefices put it in your power 
to do it; you are therefore inexcusable if you neglect it. But 
what can be expected from such poor sinners as you are, who 

wilfully 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



43 



wilfully pervert the laws of Jesus Christ, and seek after the 
honours of this world, and the pleasures of sense? When 
your Lord cometh, my Lords, all these honours will avail you 
nothing. You must give an account of your hospitality. You 
must appear, not as Lords Spiritual, before his throne, but as 
those who must give an account. 

Allow me to suppose for once, that the history of your hos- 
pitality should be inquired into, what would you answer? Will 
it be suilicient to say, that his Grace of Canterbury always kept 
a good house at Lambeth and Croydon; — that his Grace of 
York entertained elegantly at Bishop Thorp; — that Farnham 
Castle was always open for Dukes and Lords; — that Bishop 
Auckland was a ready receptacle for Deans and Prebendaries, 
and Durham Palace open to receive the judges of assize? — You 
stare at the supposition ! but you will look more aghast, when 
you hear from the mouth of the Lord, " / was an hungry, and 
ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink ; I 
teas naked, and ye clothed me not; I was sick, and in prison, and 
ye did not visit me." 

Christian hospitality, or doing good to the poor, is, in truth, 
my Lords, the only true testimony that you, or any who pro- 
fess Christianity, can give, that you love Jesus Christ. Your 
learned men may dispute concerning your different theories of 
religious sentiments; but if you are deficient in this particular, 
you are no more than a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal; 
the rest of your religion is no more than a blank in the sight of 
the Almighty. When you neglect hospitality, you are neither 
New-Testament Bishops, nor true Christians. If you think this 
conclusion severe or unjust, I appeal to the New Testament for 
the plain meaning of your Saviour's words, and those of his 
Apostles. And if you say, Who is to be judge of the meaning 
of those sacred dictates? my Lords, I could even appeal to 
your own judgment; but, to deal fairly, I will appeal to any 
Bishop in England, provided he has death and the other world 
in his eye. Let me see a Lord Spiritual upon his death-bed, 
and I will stand by his view of the meaning of Scripture; but it 
is so plain, that he who runs may read it: " A Bishop must be 
given to hospitality. 11 

<2. A Bishop must be apt to teach. According to the apos- 
tolic sentiments, the office of a Bishop and a Teacher is all one. 
The Greek word signifies one qualified to instruct, or to receive 
instruction, to instruct the ignorant, or to receive advice or 
instruction from the members of the church. No man is qua- 
lified to be a Bishop, who is not ready to receive advice; lor if 
lie is not apt to receive instruction, he is not fit to teach others. 
My Lords, it is ordinarily a maxim with Diocesans, such as you, 
to conclude, as soon as you are installed in your otfice, that the 
members of the church are implicitly to submit to your da- 
terminations; but this is to suppose that all the rest of the 
members of the church are incapable to judge for themselves, 



44 



SERMON VI. 



and that you are lords over their consciences. Such an idea 
declares plainly that you are not fit to teach; for New-Testa- 
ment teachers are not like schoolmasters, who teach children in 
things which they do not know at ail, but are remembrancers, 
who put them im mind of what they have already had an opportu- 
nity to know. No man is truly qualified for the office of a Bishop, 
who wants to impose his own dictates upon others, without 
first offering evidence and proof for his doctrine; and even when 
be has done this, he has no right to say that others are obliged 
to receive it. He is apt to teach, who is endued with the gift 
of compariug spiritual things with spiritual, in such a manner 
as to represent to the minds of others the plain and true spirit 
of Divine revelation. 

The Apostles, who must be allowed to be possessed of this 
qualification, did not pretend to teach dogmatically by imposing 
their own opinions upon the churches; on all occasions they 
appealed to the writings of Moses and the prophets, and the 
private judgment of every individual. The Christians at Berea are 
accounted more noble than others, because they did not receive 
the Apostolic doctrines implicitly, but examined the Scriptures, 
to see if those doctrines which the Apostles taught were con- 
sistent with what had been before written in the Scriptures, 
Aptness to teach, which the Apostles were chiefly endued with, 
consisted in a readiness to shew, in a plain manner, the con- 
sistency of the gospel dispensation with the promises and pro- 
phecies which went before concerning the kingdom of Jesus 
Christ. The Apostles of Christ taught no new doctrine; all 
those truths and practices which they declared to the churches 
were long before spoken of by some of those extraordinary men 
whom God had raised up to inform mankind, what in some 
future period should be made more plain. The gospel is only 
a new dispensation of ancient truths, which were but more 
darkly revealed to the church. And all the Bishops in Engkmd 
may be challenged to shew any truth or doctrine taught by Jesus 
Christ or his Apostles, of which there are not some hints given 
in the ancient Scriptures. Our Lord and his disciples did in- 
deed make the spirit of the Old-Testament writers more plain, 
and shewed what none before was ever able to do, namely, that 
what happened to him, and what was now accomplished, was 
the spirit and intention of the Old Testament. 

The qualification of a Bishop mentioned in the text consisted 
of an ability in the teacher to shew the agreement of the 
writings of the Apostles with the words of Jesus, and the pro- 
phetic declarations. And no man is fit to be an overseer in a 
New-Testament church, who is not qualified to shew the spirit 
and design of the prophets and apostles of Jesus Christ. "My 
Lords, it is too often the case for men who assume the office and 
character of Bishops to consider the benefice more than the 
qualifications that belong to the office; and this is the reason 
W% the churches are filled with ignorant and uulearned men; 

for, 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 45 

for, with all deference to your ordinations, there are many who 
mean to be Bishops abundantly ignorant. Does not every 
clergyman, who receives priest's orders, expect, 9ome time or 
other, to wear the mitre? There is nothing to hinder any priest 
from being advanced to lawn sleeves, except the want of friends 
at court. 

To be apt to teach requires great skiil in the Scriptures; and 
every Bishop must understand the word of God, otherwise he 
must be considered as a person who loves the benefice, but not 
the duty which belongs to the office. 

3. A Bishop must not be greedy of filthy lucre. This is a 
negative qualification of a New Testament overseer in the church. 
The Greek word ^xs^H^ signifies shameful gain, or emoluments 
obtained dishonourably; such as a Bishop enjoying a benefice by 
the interest of friends, without teaching those who are under his 
charge. A Bishop may truly be said to be greedy of filthy lucre, 
when his main design is to obtain a living, without the least 
intention of doing his duty. But such men, my Lord, ought not 
to be Bishops, according to the Apostolic maxim. I know that 
such reflections as these will sit but light upon the minds of 
those who are in the possession of so many thousands a year. 
But you cannot always keep a hold of those wages of unrigh- 
teousness. Your systems of sensation must soon be dissolved, 
and truth and duty will appear to you in a different point of 
light. It is undoubtedly mean to strive to seek after those things 
with anxiety, which in a few years you must be ashamed of. It 
argues a real forgetfulness of the life to come, for men to be 
striving about temporal emoluments, under the cover of religious 
offices which they never intend to fulfil : for a Bishop who enjoys 
some thousands a year to covet a prebend in a collegiate church, 
where he seldom does duty, argues a prodigious greed of filthy 
lucre. Such gain is really shameful, and unworthy of any reli- 
gious character. My Lords, it cannot be proved that the church is 
one degree the better of such greedy teachers as ye are. The 
money which ye devour might do a great deal of service, pro- 
vided it were applied to refieve the poor and the distressed. For 
men who have large patrimonies of their own to thirst after gain 
so greedily, under a pretence of serving the church, savours rank 
of unbelief and covetousness. It is impossible for any persons 
who believe the Bible to go on as you do ; it can be nothing but 
a spirit of infidelity which makes you thus pervert the Scriptures, 
aud fly in the face of revelation. A Bishop must not be greedy of 
filthy lucre, is a positive maxim ; and while it stands recorded in 
the New Testament, ought carefully to be attended to. 

4. A Bishop must not be covetous. The Scripture calls covet- 
ousness idolatry, and it would be very unbecoming in a New- 
Testament Bishop to bow down to an idol. It is of small conse- 
quence whether a Bishop be a worshipper of mental or molten 
images; an idpl in the affections, of whatever quality, is an abo- 
mination 



46 



SERMON VI. 



initiation in the sight of God. Covetousness, in the sight of 
God, is the same as idol-worship. Covetousness, according to 
the text, signifies a love of money. A Bishop should not love 
money, nor set his affections upon the sordid things of this 
world. It' he has a heart disposed towards riches; if money, or 
the pleasures of ease, employ his affections, he is unworthy of 
the office of a Bishop : for how can he teach others to deny 
the world, if he himself is a lover of the tilings thereof. The 
Heathens considered the love of money, and an anxious pursuit 
after worldly things, as both wicked and mean: you know, my 
Lords, that Ovid calis it 

■ a Amor sceleratus habendi 

which is a sentiment big with meaning. 

It is a palpable sign of covetousness, for any person who enjoys 
a fortune of his own, sufficient to make any Christian man live 
comfortably, to thirst after a church living, and undertake an 
office which he is not either qualified to fulfil, or never intends to 
discharge. It is a proverb among the common people, that the 
clergy are always greedy ; and, my Lords, I remember a prophet 
of the Lord added the epithet of dogs to a set of clergy not unlike 
yourselves. To make you understand covetousness a little better, 
I shall give the prophet's opinion at large : — " His watchmen are 
blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot 
bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are 
greedy dogs, which can never have enough, and they arc shepherds 
that cannot understand : they all look to their own way, every one 
for his gain from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch 
wine, and ice will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow 
shall be as this day, and much more abundant.* 11 

Those clergymen thus characterized by the prophet were not 
mean men, nor insignificant country curates, as you may ima- 
gine. They were high-priests, like you, and the very heads of the 
national establishment; and the Lord, by the prophet, calls them 
dumb dogs, because they did not speak his word to the people, 
but lived at ease, and neglected their duty, which they were 
bound to perform for receiving such large perquisites. When 
they were living in the absolute neglect of every duty belonging 
to their office, they could never have enough; and every one 
of them was zealous in looking after his gain from his 
quarter^ I will be sorry to say, my Lords, that these Jewish 
priests were types of you; but there is certainly some resem- 
blance, in the matter of covetousness, between you and them. 
They were fonder of increasing the revenues of the church, than 
fulfilling the offices that they were engaged to perform; they 
tythed every thing, but did nothing, except what they ought 
not to have done. Instead of watching, they slept; and when 
they should have fasted and prayed, they rioted in 16xury, and 



* Isaiah, Ivi. 10, 



drank 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. M 

drank wine and strong drink. Covetousncss is a naughty quality 
in any person; but it is altogether unseemly for a Bishop. But 
lest, by describing the vice of covetousness, I should make some 
severe strictures upon your Lordships, I shall conclude this 
Discourse. 



SERMON VII. 

Numbers, xviii. 24. 

But the tythes of the children of Israel, which they offer as am 
heave -offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to in- 
herit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of 
Israel they shall have no inheritance. 

X S the Levites were not allowed to buy lands and hereditary pos- 
sessions, they were thereby prevented from being covetous; 
and as the tythes were competent for their maintenance, they 
sought no more, nor aimed any higher. Were all the priests in 
England forbidden, by an express law, to purchase lands or 
estates upon pain of losing their livings, it would prevent, in a 
great measure, that ruling spirit of covetousness which pre- 
vails amongst them. The Priests and Levites depended entirely 
upon providence, and their livings increased or decreased accord- 
ing as the Divine bounty favoured the nation. It was contrary 
to the law of God, and the constitution of that nation, for any 
of the Jewish clergy to interfere in secular affairs. It would 
make a strange catastrophe, if such a law were made in England. 
My Lords, you would be obliged either to part with your patri- 
monies as landholders, or give up your claim to the patrimony 
of the church, which would be a severe trial to many dignified 
clergymen. 

But what I intended to consider on this subject is the doc- 
trine of tythes, as practised in the church of England. In a 
former discourse it was observed, that tythes are not held by a 
divine right; and it was hinted, that they are not consistent with 
the spirit and genius of our free constitution. That they are 
now confirmed by acts of parliament of Henry VIII. and Ed- 
ward VI. by William and Mary, and George I. is not denied-; 
but it will be allowed that all the laws which have been made 
during the reigns of those princes are not exactly consistent with 
the original and fundamental laws of the kingdom. Some com- 
plaisant parliaments have passed bills, which have been formed 
into laws, that have done little honour to the legislature. Henry 
VIII. could demand of his parliament what he had a mind ; and 



SERMON VIL 



it was well known that what he ordered with respect to tythes 
was what the Pope had done before him; and his new laws ot deci- 
mation differed nothing from those of Rome, except that he 
claimed to himself what formerly was given to the Pope. The 
favourable acts which after princes have passed in behalf of the 
clergy, concerning the tythes, were passed into laws to oblige 
them to make them hold their peace, and to prevent them from 
interfering with matters of state, which they were always ready 
to do when they were not taken notice of: but such laws, instead 
of being constitutional deeds, were only prudential temporary 
lacts, which the wisdom of government may alter, without af- 
fecting the constitution. They have no more relation to the 
constitutional laws of England, than some people may think the 
late Dog- Act has. It is not supposed by any, that all the different 
acts of parliament which the twc*Houses contrive when they meet, 
and persuade the Sovereign to sign, are always consistent with 
the fundamental laws of these realms. Many of them are tem- 
porary expedients designed to answer the present purposes of 
government, and are often repealed when they are not found to 
do good by their continuance. And why may not the laws con- 
cerning tythes be altered, when they are found to injure the 
various improvements in agriculture which are carrying on in 
the nation. As an evidence that the legislature did not con- 
sider tythes as the sole property of the church, there are near 
three thousand parishes whose tythes are impropriate, and in the 
possession of laymen, who perform no church duties, nor pay 
any salary, except what they please. Henry VIII. was allowed 
by his tractable parliament to give the tythes to whom he 
pleased ; so he gave them to his favourites, whether clergy or 
laymen, according to his own will and pleasure; and they are 
standing nearly in the same situation he left them. The funda- 
mental laws of the English constitution would not be affected, 
supposing that all the tythes in the nation were given up for some 
other consideration; and that, instead of receiving them in kind, 
a certain modus might be received in lieu of them, which would 
answer all the purposes for which tythes in England were in- 
tended. It is an indisputable point, that tythes were once upon 
another footing than they are now; for they once belonged to 
the church, and were applied to religious purposes: but when 
Henry VIII. differed with the Pope, his Majesty thought proper 
to take more than the third part of all the tythes of the nation 
into his own possession, and retailed them out in gifts to his 
friends ami favourites. Thus the foundation of tythes, though 
secured by act of parliament, appears a little unconstitutional. 
Your Lordships know that royal grants are not legal tenures. 
The royal mind may change, and then nullum tern-pus occurrit 
Regi is a known maxim, and may be applied to tythes as well 
soccages. If the King cannot alienate, as some late court maxims 
seem to intimate, what was once the property of the crown may 

be 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



49 



be recalled; and why may not these tythes, which were given 
away by former Princes, be again resumed by their successors? 
This is, perhaps, what the clergy would desire; for in such a 
case they would be more likely to return all back again to the 
church, when they come into the hands of him who is head 
thereof. But as there has been such a tergiversation in the dis- 
posing of tythes, it would argue that there were no fundamental 
laws with regard to their being received in kind. The rights of 
the church are secured by Magna Charta ; but the question is, 
whether tythes in kind, or tythes at all, be her right? For it ap- 
pears unreasonable that the church should have so much land of 
her own, and at the same time have a claim for the tenth part of 
the produce of what belongs to every other person. 

This provision, which is made for the church by tythes in kind, 
cannot certainly be the intention of the constitution; for it 
cannot be supposed, that, for the the sake of supporting one 
body of men, a bar should be put in the way of national im- 
provements, which tend to the advantage of all ranks. No act 
of parliament was ever intended, however some of them may- 
be expressed, to put a stop to improvements in agriculture, in 
which the real strength of the nation consists; nor can we sup- 
pose that our laws can refer to objects which the legislature 
who formed them did not so much as conceive would ever exist. 
The industry of farmers has produced what none of the parlia- 
ments which enacted laws concerning tythes ever imagined 
would exist in Great Britain: and it is certainly unreasonable, 
that industrious men should sink their money, and bestow their 
labour, for others, who are at no expence, to carry away the 
tenth part of their profits. But even the tythes are far from 
satisfying the avaricious desires of the clergy; for, besides tythes 
in kind of every thing the earth produces which is profitable, 
they exact a tax from both the living and the dead. Church 
fees must be paid both by those who go to church, and those 
who do not. For marriages, funerals, and Easter reckonings, 
the clergy receive near another tenth of all our substance. You 
are, my Lords, much obliged to Popery for your large endow- 
ments. The whole form of your church emoluments, as well as 
a great part of your worship, are the manufacture of the Man o£ 
Sin. The Jewish clergy, from whom the Roman church ana* 
your's would make us believe you take your pattern, had no such 
privileges as you enjoy: they had no other inheritance except 
tythes, nor were they allowed to buy lands, or interfere in se- 
cular affairs; and every third year they were obliged to divide 
with the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow ; — but after 
you have divided all the tythes among yourselves, you saddle the 
public with a poor rate into the bargain. You ought certainly 
to supply the poor with the tenth part of the nation's substance. 
Instead of this, the very poorest ranks of people are obliged to 
contribute to the luxury of the clergy. Every poor day-labourer, 

H with 



50 



SERMON VII. 



with a small family, must pay for his own head, and every one 
in his house, provided they be sixteen years of age, though they 
should borrow the money, or their family starve. This is hard, 
my Lords, very hard; and you ought to consider it. 

But suppose you have some patched-up human laws for your 
tythes, and some other customary offerings, it is unfair to receive 
wages when you do not work. You ought certainly to do some 
good for your money. It is true, you sit in parliament; but the 
Priests who first received tythes did not aspire so high ; they did not 
meddle with civil affairs. The matters of the Lord, and those of 
the King, were in those days kept distinct. But as the Jewish 
dispensation is finished, it is amazing that you, who pretend to 
be Christians, should still retain the Jewish system. Why 
do you not pursue it throughout, and offer sacrifices, as 
the priests of the law did ? You would have a right to the 
fat, as they had, if you performed their service; but you 
can eat the fat, and do no service at all, which is highly unrea- 
sonable. 

It appears something strange, that a Protestant church should 
claim the privilege of laws which were intended to establish the 
church of Rome. Henry I. Edward III. and Henry VIII. rati- 
fied no laws in behalf of the church, but with a view to support 
perfect Popery. It is not a little suspicious in your characters, 
my Lords, that you should insist on the execution of laws for 
the payment of tythes, which no Protestant can execute, without 
first turning Papist. There is not, at this day, a Protestant 
church under the protection of any government which holds 
tythes upon the tenure of Popish laws, as your church does; nor 
do the clergy intermeddle in state affairs, or have any share in 
the civil government of the nations where they reside. In 
Denmark and Sweden the clergy assemble in parliament, but 
do not meet as Lords Spiritual along with the Temporal Lords; 
their business is only to attend to the affairs of the church, or to 
advise in things pertaining to religion : but they do not, in the 
character of Barons and Spiritual Lords, sit with the nobles to 
determine in civil decisions of the legislature. 

But, to conclude this Discourse concerning tythes, it is un- 
doubtedly contrary to the welfare of those lands for the clergy 
to be rich, or to be paid with tythes in kind. They never can 
enjoy the love of the landed interest, while they insist upon this 
mode of decimation. And it must have the appearance of 
greediness of filthy lucre, for them to prefer tythes to the love 
of the people. It will be impossible for them to edify those 
who consider them as selfish interested men, who would not 
save a single soul from perdition unless they were sure of being 
extravagantly paid for it. 

Prudence ought to direct you, my Lords, to be moderate in 
this particular; otherwise I may venture to pronounce that your 
existence will not be long. The laity are become wiser than in 

past 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



51 



past ages, and mankind are not so much priest-ridden as in 
former times. If the Commons and Lords in England should 
consider their own interest, it is easy for them to vote you into 
non-existence. You have only one thing at present to save you ; 
a number of the nobles are your friends; and second brothers 
think a bishopric a very good auxiliary to a small estate. But 
as religion is not fashionable, as in former times, this may also 
be overcome. 

It will be your wisdom to be discreet in the article of tythes, 
and not to insist upon the rigour of the law, lest, by stretching 
your power too far, the legislature should find reason to take 
it from you. There is a period approaching, when you must 
rank with farmers, and other poor sinners, whom you now 
despise. What a mortification will it be to the gentlemen in 
lawn sieves to be reduced to the level of poor country farmers, 
and to be obliged to answer for the abuse of the tenth part of 
the national emoluments. Souls, an't please your Reverences, 
may be edified for less money than the tenth part of the produce 
of the lands of England. It would certainly be better to ap- 
point certain competent sums for the maintenance of the clergy, 
and dispose of all the chapter lands and tythes to help to pay 
the national debt. 

According to the words of the text, if you insist upon having 
tythes, you ought in conscience to give up all other inheritance 
in the nation, and make tythes serve you. The Levites had no 
inheritance among their brethren, but received tythes for all; 
they were the inheritance of the Lord, and held their livings by 
a charter from him, which undoubtedly was a better foundation 
than the charter of Ethelwolphus. 

No priests in those days possessed estates of thousands and 
huudreds a year; they were all obliged to depend upon the 
Almighty, who only could make tythes turn to their advantage. 
But as Ethelwolphus has said nothing concerning clergymen 
having estates, nor has Ingulphus recorded any thing concerning 
this subject, it is supposed that his charter does not exclude 
Bishops from having as large temporal estates as they can pro- 
cure. But this charter, as it proceeded from a source no way- 
respectable, had never the sanction of the parliament of Eng* 
land till the reign of Henry VIII. and from a very different 
intention from what the first charter supposes.^ 

But what makes tythes more intolerable is, that they do not 
serve the church; for instead of tythes, in many places, the 
clergy have the whole estates, tythes and all, to support a 
number of men who are of no real service to the church, having 
no cure of souls, nor any other office, except once a month, tp 
preach a sermon to a few people, who are very indifferent about 
hearing them. 

To conclude, my Lords— I can assure you, that I do not envy 
you your temporal emoluments; for I think that you buy them 

dear 



52 



SERMON VII. 



dear enough, at the expence of truth and conscience. I am sure 
I am not singular in my opinion; thousands of your own dis- 
ciples declare as much. When you consider that there is no 
warrant in the Scripture for such a practice of decimation, you 
cannot help concluding in your own mind, that you eat the 
bread of violence, unrighteousness, and oppression. But I shall 
now part with you for this time, and conclude my Discourse. 



SERMON VIII. 

Ecclesiastes, xii. 14. 

For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret 
thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. 

^T^HIS is a very serious affair. There will, on this solemn 
occasion, be none to laugh at another: every person will 
have enough to do with his own affairs. When the Searcher of 
hearts shall lay open all the springs of actions that have ever 
been since the beginning of the world, there will be many works, 
"which have been determined good, that will appear in very 
different colours. This is an assize where all men w ill be tried by 
an impartial Judge, who will determine of actions according to 
their principles, and not according to the varnish of appearances, 
by which they have been coloured by the art and craft of de- 
signing and interested men. 

The truth of characters will, at this solemn period, be fully 
and fairly exposed, and none will be able to conceal the motives 
of actions from this Almighty Judge. Every work shall be 
brought into judgment, the most hidden and most secret works 
of darkness. Good and bad deeds shall be made manifest; this 
shall be the conclusion of the whole matter. Whilst the great 
drama of this universe is acting, many things are concealed 
behind the scenes, which, when all the several acts are finished, 
shall be laid open to the view of all, and such as have acted their 
part well shall be approved, while others, who have behaved 
unworthily, shall meet with a judgment according to their 
deserving. 

It will be a sad surprise to those who have dexterously covered 
over scenes of wickedness, and under colour of the fairest pre- 
tensions concealed the worst of deeds, to see all their works 
exposed to those from whom they were at the greatest pains to 
hide them. Were thoughts as easily understood as the mean- 
ing of words, there are few persons who would not blush to look 

one 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



53 



one another in the face ; and could our hearts be rendered as 
visible to each other as our faces, it would spoil a great degree 
of that confidence with which we appear in company. If the 
covetous man were persuaded that his love of the mammon of 
unrighteousness was as visible to all others as it is manifest to 
himself, instead of appearing in public, he would shut himself 
up in his cioset, and feast his meditations upon his gilded idols, 
and never shew his face where any of his fellow-creature , .ould 
perceive him. Did the lewd and debauched sons of uncleanness 
believe that their friends and neighbours, by looking at their 
faces, could discern the secret springs of impurity whicli lurk in 
their hearts, they would shun the light like owls, and skulk till 
the evening like bats. Were those who dissemble with God 
and men fully convinced that ail the secret traces of dissimula- 
tion, with all the means which they use to conceal it, were as 
manifest as their visible parts, they would dread to be seen by 
their fellows, and tremble at the thoughts of company. But 
though for a season men may conceal their crimes, and cover 
their malicious purposes with the varnish of a profession, the 
period will at last approach, when all things shall be made 
manifest, and God shall pass a righteous judgment upon every 
man's works. The wise man recommends the fear and service 
of God to the study of all men, with a view to the conclusion of 
the whole matter. According to Solomon's sentiments, every 
man should perform his worship and his duty with an eye upon 
a day of account and reckoning. 

It may be necessary, in further inquiring into this subject, to 
consider the nature of this judgment, which all men's works 
must undergo, and then to make some improvement of the 
subject. 

1. It will be judgment according to perfect knowledge. The 
Judge, bein^ infinitely wise, is able to judge of actions according 
to their real character. As he knows men, and what is in them, 
so no springs of action can lie concealed from his omniscience. 
The Supreme knows men's hearts as intimately as he does their 
faces; and motives are as visible to him as ocular demonstration. 
All things are naked and open to the eye of him with whom we 
have to do. Many things in human actions lie beyond the reach 
of the most intelligent Judge, and no human judicature can with 
certainty determine upon the thoughts of men's hearts, except 
so far as their actions declare them : but God, whose understand- 
ing is infinite, can, with infallible certainty, determine the truth 
or falsehood of the motives of all his reasonable creatures. As 
he is the constant witness of all men's deeds, and by his infinite 
intelligence perceives the secrets of their hearts on all occasions, 
so he is perfectly qualified to determine whether their works are 
good or evil. Many acts of human judicature are determined by 
the rules of probability, when it is uncertain whether the deter- 
mination is altogether according to truth. Men are frequently 

obliged 



54 



SERMON VIII. 



obliged to compare circumstances, and balance evidence; and 
from hence pass sentence, when yet there is no infallible certainty 
that they are in the right. But Jehovah has a direct evidence for 
all his determinations; he judges from what he intimately knows, 
and determines from his own certain understanding. The works 
of men do not come before the Deity varnished with colouring of 
art, or the disguises of hypocrisy; sophistry cannot deceive him; 
nor can ail the reasoning of human wisdom mislead him in 
judgment. Persons and actions appear before him exactly as 
they are, stripped of every adventitious colouring. It is impos- 
sible to over-reach the Almighty, whose intelligence is universal 
and infinite ; whose wisdom understands all things, without rea- 
soning upon them ; and whose understanding can investigate the 
properties of every individual subject at once, without any 
middle term to compare it by. So perfect is the Divine know- 
ledge, that from the beginning all the works of Jehovah are 
known to him. When he judges, his judgment is according to 
the most perfect knowledge of the nature and character of 
actions, with all the secret springs thereof. 

The Scripture, in illustrating the omniscience and knowledge of 
the Almighty, declares it in the most beautiful, and in the 
strongest manner: — " Can any hide himself in secret places that 
I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and 
earth? saith the Lord"*—-" Yea> the darkness hideth not from 
thee ; but the night shineth as the day : the darkness and the light 
are both alike to thee"f From all which it may be justly inferred, 
that this judgment will be according to knowledge and perfect 
understanding. 

c 2. It will be universal. Every work will be brought into 
judgment; those deeds which men have entirely forgotten, and 
never imagined would beany more considered, shall be brought 
into judgment. Public works and secret works shall be all 
strictly scrutinized. The works of your ministry, my Lords, will 
be tried at this general examination : they will be judged 
according to their truth or falsehood, deficiency or redundancy. 
Your sermons and religious discourses shall undergo an exact 
and perfect inquiry. Whether they have been dictated accord- 
ing to the word of God, or have only been the effusions of 
episcopal imagination, will be fully considered; whether they 
have been the dreams of your own fancies, or the doctrines 
which the Lord hath commanded you to teach. This Righteous 
Judge will strictly enquire, whether you have smoothed your 
tongues, and prophesied false dreams ; imposed the decisions of 
the clergy upon the people, instead of the written word of the 
God of truth. 

Your work of confirmation will be brought into judgment; 
it will then be known whether this was a work of God, or a 

* Jer. xxiii. 24 f Psalm cxxxix, 12. 

work 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



55 



work of your own. It appears to many now a suspicious-like 
work, as having no foundation in the Divine word, though you 
declare that you received it from the Apostles: but then it shall 
be clearly determined of what quality it is. You indeed say, 
that you lay your hands upon the heads of children, after the 
example of the Apostles. But wherein do you fulfil their 
example? They actually conferred the Holy Ghost upon those 
who had believed, and made them partakers of an heavenly 
gift, which you cannot confer; at least, it never appears after 
you have imposed your hands more than it did before, which 
creates a suspicion in the minds of intelligent people, that this 
work of your's is only a superstitious invention of your own.— 
For what is it that you confer, which any other clergymen 
caanot as well bestow ? I am afraid, my Lords, that, upon 
trial, you will not be able to answer this plain question. This 
work of your's has all the appearance of solemn superstition. 
Were you as zealous in imitating the Apostles in all things, as in 
this one thing, there is much work which you neglect that you 
would find yourselves obliged to perform. The Apostles went 
every where preaching the word, and did not, like you, confine 
their exercises to some particular occasions: they preached to 
the poor, and instructed the ignorant, and condescended to 
men of low degree; which is more than you even pretend to 
imitate them in. But your work must be tried, and then it will 
appear whether you have done right or wrong. 

Your work in consecrating churches will be tried. You do 
not pretend to imitate the Apostles in this exercise : this is 
purely a work of your own ; and a most trifling work it appears 
to be. What effect can all the mummery which you pronounce 
have upon the walls of a house, or upon the dormitories of the 
dead ? This looks so like Popery, that none, except the friends 
of the Church of Rome, can pretend to vindicate it. It is an 
action without any moral reason, and can never in judgment 
abide the trial of an impartial Judge. Did it answer any good 
purpose for society, or had it any foundation in the Divine * 
word, there might be some hope that, in the general assize, it 
would at least pass without reprehension; but as it is a pure act 
of will-worship, it is impossible but it must be disapproved. 
The solemnity with which you perform this solemn farce would 
make ignorant people believe that consecration of churches 
was a very important thing. To see a Lord Spiritual with his 
clergy proceeding in a grave procession to consecrate a taber- 
nacle of clay, would tempt one to believe that some very import- 
ant thing was about to be performed, and that some divine or 
moral reasons must require such an awful solemnity; but when 
there are no standing signatures of this consecration remaiuing 
after the action, no peculiar glory or impressions of holiness to 
be observed when his Lordship retires, it must abate much the 
persuasion of the necessity thereof in the minds of all judicious 

persons. 



56 



SERMON VIII. 



persons. Were such a ceremony required by any act of civil 
government, it might be pretended that it was done in obedience 
to the civil powers : but there is no act of the legislature for con- 
secrating churches. And suppose there was some law concerning 
this act of will-worship, it would be a sin to obey it ; because 
no human law can oblige us to perform a religious action where 
there is no divine warrant. In matters of religion which respect 
the consciences of men, no human law can interpose. In all 
civil matters good subjects will obey the laws, and yield obedi- 
ence to the powers that be; but in matters of religion, as they 
are responsible to none but God Almighty, so no human law can 
oblige them to perform what revelation has not declared to be 
their duty. Such strange works of will-worship, before the 
judgment-seat of him who is the Author of all true religious in- 
stitutions, must certainly meet with the highest disapprobation. 

But, my Lords, your spiritual courts, and the works that are 
done there, will be brought into judgment. The most secret 
works of your proctors and chancellors will be laid open. Many 
strange works are carried on in these arbitrary tribunals, which 
have ruined multitudes. 

If the one-half be true that is told of those clergy courts, 
against the day of judgment there will be a sad account to give 
in. The unjust fines, the ungodly sentences, and unwarrantable 
indulgences, which are passed in your inquisitorial judicatories, 
will all be exposed to open view, and righteous judgment given 
upon them. Things which few common people know any reason 
for, will be all fairly settled by the great Judge, when every 
work shall be revealed. 

Your parliamentary works will also be brought into judg- 
ment. There is none now dare to call you to an account for 
what you do as Lords Spiritual in parliament; you may vote as 
you please, and determine as you will, and none can hinder you: 
but for all these things you shall be brought into judgment, and 
be made to give an account. 

Your works of charity will also be brought to light. Reli- 
gious men, who possess such large benefices, have it in their 
power to do much good to the needy and distressed ; and your 
office and profession obliges you to do good and communi- 
cate. Out of ten or twelve thousand pounds, one thousand 
every year may be easily spared for the assistance of the poor 
and afflicted. We hear but little of your works of charity at 
present, and cannot tell how you dispose of so much money, 
which is said to be applied to pious purposes; but every farthing 
thereof must at last be accounted for. I mention these things 
to put your Lordships in mind of what is to happen ; for you 
have so much worldly employment now, that you are in danger 
of forgetting the day of reckoning. According to our Saviour's 
account, works of charity will be taken particular notice of, 
when all things shall be brought to judgment. " J was an hun- 

gred, 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



57 



gred, and you gave me meat; 1 was thirsty, and you gave one 
drink" will, at that clay, be words worth the hearing. 

3. It will be impartial judgment. The Judge of all the earth 
will do right. At present we often see judgment perverted, and 
the poor man's cause neglected. The interest of friends goes a 
great way in the judgments of this world ; and if a man has 
many friends, and much interest, he may sometimes have a ver- 
dict in his favour, though his cause be none of the best. But 
when God shall bring every work into judgment, he will judge 
according to truth, and with infinite impartiality. Riches nor 
rank will then be regarded; Bishops and Curates will be judged 
according to their works, and not according to the rank they 
have held in the church. And here, my Lords, I am afraid 
that your Reverences will make a poor figure. The Curates, as 
they have done the principal part of the work, will be most 
likely to have the chief rewards; and it will be certainly but 
justice that they should. The impartial Judge of all men must 
certainly pay some regard to equity; and it would not be equit- 
able to give such rewards to those who have had their good 
things in this life, as to those who have laboured hard, and have 
possessed almost nothing. You, perhaps, may think it hard 
judgment to perceive your curates and underlings preferred to 
their dignitaries ; but you dare not say that there is any injustice 
or partiality in it. It is a grave thought, provided you had time 
to think; but matters of this sort you too often put far away 
from your considerations. Bishoprics and large temporalities 
may, in this life, through the interest of friends, and the par- 
tiality of the disposers thereof, be obtained for persons who are 
no ways deserving of them ; but when all matters are concluded, 
it will be otherwise. The Divine judgment will be impartial; 
no tricks of policy, nor force of bribes, will have any influence 
upon the Almighty. Money, in your spiritual courts, will 
oftentimes carry a bad cause; and the influence of friends pre- 
vent deserved punishments; when those who are poor, and want 
interest, suffer for their iniquities to the full extent. Things 
will he managed otherwise at the general assize, when the me- 
rits of every cause will be strictly regarded, and those who have 
been deserted in this world find a Friend that will stick faster 
than a brother. 

4. It will be according to law. The Almighty will not judge 
men's actions capriciously. My Lords, you will have a fair trial* 
Men's works shall be tried of what sort they are; which sup- 
poses that there is some law and rule by which they are judged. 
The law will be fairly laid open to every one. The books shall 
be opened, and those that are tried shall be judged out of the 
things which are written in the books. No persons will have 
occasion to say that they are judged by laws which they had no 
opportunity to know; for the word of God will be the rule of all 

I judgment. 



58 



SERMON VIII. 



judgment. If men's works are agreeable to Divine revelation, 
there is no fear that they will be condemned on account of them ; 
but all works of human invention, that have been substituted in 
the place of those commanded in the Divine word, will certainly 
be disapproved. If the Almighty had intended that his rational 
creatures should walk according to their pleasure in any thing 
pertaining to the kingdom of Christ, he would never have made 
it a crime to depart from those positive rules which he hath 
given in Scripture; but as he hath declared the written word 
sufficient for all things relating to his church, it is evident that 
all human contrivances are excluded. If all these political man- 
oeuvres of your's are according to the law of God revealed in his 
word, there is no doubt but they will be approved; but in case 
they are found contrary to that Divine rule, they will be con- 
demned as unlawful, and you yourselves be in jeopardy. What- 
soever any persons receive into their religious system, which is 
not to be found in the book of Divine laws, must be considered 
as evil works, because it is received in despite of that complete 
rule of righteousness. 

The word of God will be a sufficient rule for judging all 
things; and, with regard to what pertains to your Lordships, 
you will find it competent. By this law your titles, offices, and 
behaviour, will be tried. If there is such a title as Lords Spi- 
ritual in the Scripture, then your claim to this dignity will pro- 
bably be accepted, at least you may be acquitted for assuming 
it. But, provided that is not to be found in the Scripture, how 
will you look, my Lords ? Before the approach of this solemn 
day, let us try if we can find such a title applied to men in 
religious offices. It may be of some service to you to know the 
truth of this point, for the benefit of your own consciences; for 
if such titles are not to be found in Scripture, you have now an 
opportunity to repent of assuming them, and may presently 
give them up, with all their appendages; and, provided they 
are authorized by Divine authority, your consciences may rest 
at ease, and you may wait the day of trial with confidence and 
assurance. The word of God gives the title of Lord to the 
Deity; to kings, Husbands, Masters, and Prophets-, but all these 
characters are very different from that of Lords Spiritual. You 
are Lords in your own houses, Lords to your wives and ser- 
vants • but you cannot be Lords over the consciences of either 
of them, nor can you lawfully receive titles of Lordship for any 
religious character which you assume. In all the Scripture 
there is no Spiritual Lord mentioned, except Jesus Christ, who 
is Lord of Lords, and King of Kings. This title, as it is not to be 
found authorized in the book of Divine laws, you ought quickly 
to lay aside, lest the judgment of God come upon you unawares, 
and you be found guilty of assuming titles altogether contrary 
to the law of God. 

As 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



59 



As this dignity is not warranted in Scripture, it is reasonable 
to suppose that Christians should not assume it; but if it is posi- 
tively forbidden, it argues great guilt to claim honours prohibited 
by the word of the living God. In the kingdoms of this world 
the laws set bounds and regulations to honorary titles, and no 
person is allowed to assume the titles which are due to others; 
and it must undoubtedly be criminal, according to the Divine 
law, for men to claim titles and honours which are only due to 
the Son of God. If a temporal Lord were to humble himself to 
be a minister of the gospel, his office would not take from him 
the honours that are due to him as a Temporal Lord; but his 
religious office would add nothing to his Lordship, but oblige 
him to resign offices which his temporal character entitled him 
to exercise. There is no law under the gospel for a minister of 
the word being a justice of the peace, or for any clergyman 
being a civil magistrate. After carefully searching every page 
which has the smallest relation to those matters, I have not been 
able to discover the most distant hint concerning the title of 
Lord Spiritual. If there is any such thing, it is incumbent upon 
your Lordships to point it out, for your own credit. 

The law of God will be the rule of judging your office and 
your power, as well as your titles. There will be no occasion: 
to depart from the Scriptures for a law to judge of your office 
and power as Diocesan Bishops. You pretend to authority 
from Jesus Christ to rule over whole provinces; to convey the 
office of priesthood in perpetual succession; to pass censures 
upon such as transgress the canon law, or fail in point of obe- 
dience to the rules of the church ; for all which assumed autho- 
rity you ought to produce some warrant for the word of God. 
But though you may now despise this Divine rule, you may be 
assured that by this law your whole behaviour shall at last be 
tried. I promised to make some practical improvement of this 
subject; but as the whole of the Discourse has been practical, I 
shall conclude, and say, Amen. 



SERMON 



"GO 



SERMON IX. 



SERMON IX. 

1 Kings, xviii. 27- 

And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said y 
Cry aloud : for he is a god ; either he is talking, or he is pur- 
suing, or he is in a journey , or peradventure he sleepeth, and 
must be awaked. 

HPHE prophet Elijah seems to have been very merry on this oc- 
casion, and makes very free with Baal and his prophets. It 
appears manifest from this passage, that it is no crime for grave 
men to laugh upon proper occasions, and apply ridicule to things 
that are ridiculous. Though religion is one of the gravest things 
in the world, yet when it is founded upon absurdity, and composed 
of superstitious fopperies, it is nothing more than an object of ridi- 
cule. I wonder much when Dr. Brown was correcting Lord 
Shaftesbury, that he did not fall foul upon the prophet Elijah ; 
for this sarcastical prophet has made as free with the religion of 
Baal and his prophets, as ever his Lordship did with the parsons 
and the religion of the church of England. Elijah not only laughed 
at the priests, but even made free with their deity, which some 
persons may think looked very like profanity ; and to the priests 
of Baal it would, no doubt, appear very profane. It was well for 
the prophet that he did not live in the days of the Star-Cbamber, 
nor resided within the reach of the [nquisition, or they would soon 
have spoiled his mirth. It is a sad thing to laugh at the clergy, what- 
ever religion they are of; for it is always a sign of great infidelity, 
and shews that the church is in danger. This prophet of the Lord, 
in some countries, would have passed for an infidel, and been stig- 
matized for a Deist. He ought to have taken his own way, but 
not to have ridiculed other people's God and religion. It is a weak 
religion that cannot endure the test of ridicule. 

These sycophant prophets of Baal had got into favour with 
Ahab and his queen, and thought every thing became them. 
The prophets of the Lord were slain, and banished, because they 
would not flatter the courtiers and the ministers of Ahab. 
None durst appear in behalf of the true religion, except Elijah, 
who was a person of an intrepid disposition, and seems also to 
have been a man of humour. Let none of the patrons of 
dulness and superstition exclaim against treating religious sub- 
jects in a pleasant and humourous manner, when we have such 
a good pattern for the practice. The prophet here has set us a 
fine example for the practice of ridicule with regard to religious 
subjects and religious persons. 

Here 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. (51 

Here it may t>e necessary to consider the nature of this ridi- 
cule, which the prophet Elijah practised against the prophets of 
Baal; and, secondly, to inquire, Whether or not it is the test of 
trull), or how far it tends to discover falsehood. 

1. The nature of this ridicule will more easily be investigated 
by considering the objects thereof. And there are three things 
in the text which the prophet brings to the standard of ridicule: 
the object of that new national worship, Baal; — the worship 
itself; — the worshippers, the prophets of Baal; — and the manner 
of their worship. 

The object of that new national worship, Baal. " He is a 
god;" or, as the Hebrew reads, " Seeing he is a god, cry aloud' 1 
There is more meant than meets the ear in these words. The 
prophet was not so rude and unmannerly as to tell these clergy- 
men that Baal was a daemon, though he plainly means as much ; 
nor does he affirm that he was a true Deity, for then he would 
have told a falsehood ; but argues upon their own principles, 
and addresses them upon that supposition which their practice 
suggested. " Seeing he is a god" and you consider him as 
such, try your influence with him, and make him prove his 
divinity. This is most terribly severe, and yet incomparably 
delicate. The actions which Elijah attributes to this false 
object of worship carries the degree of ridicule to the highest 
point. " Perhaps he is talking" and cannot hear you through the 
hurry of conversation. To suppose a deity so embarrassed with 
conversation, as not to hear the prayers of his ambassadors, is to 
make him a perfect dsemon. This is a curious climax which 
the prophet uses. He begins with one of those common actions 
which hinders men from attending to petitions — the noise and 
hurry of conversation, and hereby brings Baal down to the 
level of a finite creature; yea, he makes him an impertinent 
babbler, who, when he was engaged in one subject, could take 
notice of nothing else. But he adds, " or he is pursuing" In- 
tent upon a victory, and must have his attention called off from 
so serious an action, before he will hear you. Elijah makes 
Baal truly heathen; he gives him the character of Mars, the 
god of war, whom the Heathens brought in for their assistance 
in time of battle. Those prophets must have been very stupid 
not to perceive when their god was treated like a devil ; for this 
sarcastical prophet undeifies him altogether. " Or he is in a 
journey." Now he is divested of both omniscience and omni- 
presence. The prophet positively hints that he could not be 
everywhere; when he was pursuing, and in a journey, he could 
not hear the prayers of his prophets. This was bringing him 
down very low; but he adds, " or peradventare he sleep eth, and 
must be awaked." Now his godship is in a dose, and taking a 
nap. The images are naturally introduced; for, first, he is 
considered as talking extravagantly, then pursuing, afterwards 
in a journey, and, at last, he falls asleep. 



62 



SERMON IX. 



Elijah could not have more severely satirized the deity of 
these prophets, supposing he had expressly given him all the 
bad epithets in the Hebrew language. The false prophets could 
not decently be offended at him for treating their god in this 
manner; for their own behaviour suggested the ideas which he 
expresses. Besides, as this was a comparative trial between the 
God of Israel and this false deity, the event was most likely to 
try the force of the ridicule; and the experiment, which was 
now begun, would in all probability determine what was truth 
or falsehood in the matter in controversy. The man who laughs 
at an absurd character, even suppose it should be annexed to a 
deity, does not ridicule a Divine name, but ridicules the 
imaginary fancies of superstitious minds. It would be no reflec- 
tion upon the character of God Almighty for a Christian to 
laugh at a god made of a wafer, though a good Catholic might 
account it profane.. It is impossible for any person who has 
the least risibility to be grave in treating such unnatural and 
absurd opinions. If any grave man should solemnly tell me, 
that the God of the universe took pleasure in a Christian's 
flogging himself for his sins, I could not help smiling at him; 
but if he told me further, that it was essential to his ideas of his 
character, I should certainly laugh very heartily at both him and 
the deity which he worshipped. And I should certainly do no 
more than the prophet Elijah did in the case before us. 

The prophet next ridicules the worshippers of Baal. They 
had called upon this idol from morning till noon, and they were 
still where they were. He had paid no attention to their prayers, 
nor shewed the smallest sign of regard to them. Elijah desires 
them to cry louder; this implied that there was some defect in 
their performance. They worshipped their God as if he had 
been deaf; and the prophet makes merry with their absurd 
notion of being heard by their idol for their much speaking. 

The prophet's address to those superstitious Baalites is truly 
ironical and sarcastic. " Cry aloud" says he, when they were 
crying as loud as they were able, and cutting themselves with 
knives till the blood gushed out. There cannot be any thing 
more satirical than to desire a person to exert himself, when he 
is at his ne plus ultra, and can do no more. One would have 
thought that Elijah might have paid some regard to the prophets 
of Baal, and considered that though they differed from him, they 
might mean well in their own way. Absurdity may be tole- 
rated, and its votaries preserved from the influence of penal 
laws; but it never can have the privilege of being free from the 
edge of ridicule. Even grave men must laugh at what is un- 
natural and absurd; and they cannot help it, provided they have 
any humour in them at all. Elijah, as grave as he was, was 
obliged to laugh at those mad prophets. 

Their manner of worship was truly ridiculous; their odd 
gesticulations, their jumping upon the altar, and cutting them- 
selves 



TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



63 



selves with knives, and shouting like madmen, must have afforded 
a strange aspect. The men were called prophets too, and were 
a sort of apes of the servants of the Lord ; they were the Queen's 
clergy, and the favourites of the court. It was highly laughable 
to find that those court clergy should have so little influence 
over their deity, and still more so for them to conceive that an 
idol could perform divine works. 

The object of all this ridicule we find is absurdity — -the 
absurdity of the object of worship, the worshippers, and their 
manner of worship. 

Let us now see how far ridicule is the test of truth. 

When men make merry with truth, the laugh always goes 
against them. Let us suppose that the prophets of Baal had 
tried their ridicule upon Elijah and the God of Israel, it would 
not have been long before their mirth would have been spoiled; 
the trial would have decided the controversy, and the laugh 
gone upon the other side. 

Though ridicule is not the method to investigate truth, yet it 
distinguishes it from falsehood upon trial ; and he who attempts 
to render truth ridiculous will at best but expose himself. The 
friends of error generally betray themselves, by feeling pain when 
the weapon of satire is employed against them; whereas those 
who are conscious of the truth of their cause remain easy, and 
perfectly composed, when fools laugh at them. Truth is like 
beauty ; it retorts ridicule upon those who attempt to throw 
reproach upon it. 

Upon the whole, we may see from the practice of Elijah, that 
it is lawful to treat religious men and things with ridicule when 
they deserve it; and that good humour and a grave character 
are not inconsistent with one another. Elijah was a grave man, 
and yet he makes use of good humour in the case before us, 
and applies ridicule to a Very grave subject. Let none of their 
Reverences exclaim against the freedom which is used with the 
suspicious part of their character. If there is nothing absurd 
about them, satire will not affect them. 



END Of LECTURES TO LORDS SPIRITUAL. 



SERMONS 



TO 



MINISTERS OF STATE 



BY THE REV, JAMES MURRAY, 
Of Newcastle. 



" Preach the gospel to every creature.'' — Mark, xvi. 16. 

I have called you gods, and all of you the children of the Highest; but ye shaft 
die like men, and fall like one of the princes."— Psalm lxxxii. 6, t. 




A NEW EDITION. 



JLonDon: 

PRINTED BY AND FOR W. HONE, 67, OLD BAILEY, 

I'll REE DOORS FROM LUDG ATE HILL. 



1817. 



TO LORD NORTH, 

ONE OF HIS MAJESTY'S SECRETARIES OF STATE. 



My Lord, 

yOUR office in the State has rendered you as conspicuous to the 
people of this nation, as the achievements carried on under 
your administration have made you famous over all Europe. 
Your name and transactions will stand recorded in history, with a 
peculiar emphasis. It is on account of this, my Lord, that I have 
taken the freedom of inscribing this volume of Sermons to you, 
that, under the sanction of so remarkable a name, these Discourses 
might be more generally received in the world than they would have 
been were they published under the mere signature of the Author, 
For though, my Lord, the name of Murray, us times go, is far 
from being a name of little consideration in many special respects* 
for, as the Author has never figured in any public walk of life, he 
was afraid to trust to a name without first doing something that 
might be worthy of it. Under the patronage of your name, Exigit 
monumentum sere perennius, regalique situ pyramidum altius; 
for your Lordship's name, my Lord, will not soon be forgotten. 

These Sermons may serve for an amusement when your Lord- 
ship retires from the weighty and fatiguing studies of the State; 
when you divert your mind from the hurry of business by enjoy- 
ing the sweets of the country. They may suggest some useful 
hints to refresh your memory concerning things that are past, and 
inform you of what is yet to come. All the reward the Author 
desires for this Dedication is, that your Lordship will be pleased to 
read these Sermons, and recommend them to your friends. 

Multa petentibus 
Desunt multa. Bene est cui Deus obtulit 
Parca quod satis est manu." 

/ am, 

Your Lordship's humble Servant, 

JAMES MURRAY. 



SERMONS 

TO 

MINISTERS OF STATE. 



SERMON I. 



Mark, xvi. 15. 



And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
gospel to every creature, 

A S the words that follow are a little uncourtly, I have left 



them out, lest my audience, by being disgusted in the be- 
ginning of my discourse, should not be disposed to give attention 
to what I have to say in the following parts thereof. The words 
of the text are the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 
who had lately risen from the dead, and was declared to be the 
Son of God with power. He had now finished a work which 
all the hosts in heaven, and men upon earth, by their united 
wisdom and power, could not have performed. He had given 
a greater display of the diviue attributes than had hitherto been 
seen in all the works of creation and providence. By fulfilling 
righteousness, and pleasing God, — by magnifying the law, and 
making it honourable, — and by shewing the harmony between 
justice and mercy in the forgiveness of the ungodly, he had 
now laid a sure foundation of preaching peace to the worthless of 
all ranks and degrees in the world. He had laid the foundation 
of publishing mercy to mankind in his own blood, and has 
thereby fully shewn, that, without shedding of bjood, there 
would have been no remission of sin. Perhaps it may appear 
strange to my noble audience, that a personage of so mean a 
visible character in the world should have pretended to perform 
such extraordinary works, and claim such prerogatives, as Jesus 
of Nazareth did, and still doth. It is, my Lords, exceeding 
strange and wonderful, beyond even the comprehension of all the 
cabinets in Europe. It is amazing that a God, who can make 
a world by his word, should have been at so much pains with 
this guilty and corrupt world, as to send his beloved Son to die 
for it. Your Highnesses and your Reverences must remember, 




B 



and 



SERMON I. 



and ye ought to know, that all mankind were in actual rebellion 
against the Sovereign of heaven and earth : they first trans- 
gressed his law, then hated him, and pursued the course of their 
rebellion with unrelenting malignity. Is it not amazing that 
Omnipotence did not punish them for their rebellion, and for 
ever exclude them from all hopes of mercy and favour? That, 
instead of pursuing them according to the strictness of law and 
justice, in their own persons, he was pleased in mercy to accept 
of an atonement from his own Son, whom he sent into the 
world on purpose to save them ! Before he drove the first man 
out of Paradise, which he had forfeited, he was mercifully 
pleased to make a better provision for him, and to restore him 
to a more glorious state of liberty; — and, my Lords, what is 
still more strange, to free his enemies from the fear of his indig- 
nation, he put his beloved Son to grief and mortal sorrow. M It 
pleased Jehovah to bruise him and put him to grief ; when he shall 
make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. By his 
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall 
bear their iniquities. 11 * All this is so surprising, that you never 
heard of any thing like it in the annals of time. The great, 
supreme, omnipotent Jehovah, who created this universe by a 
word out of nothing, and who <e counts the nations as a drop of 
a bucket, and as the small dust in the balance, 11 could have de- 
stroyed all sinners with a word, as well as he made the world 
thereby. But he is merciful and gracious, slotv to anger, and 
of great kindness ; " he pours not out all his anger at once, be- 
cause he delights in mercy 11 You are surprised, are you not, 
to hear of so much mercy in a Being possessed of absolute power 
and authority f Truly, it is a rare thing; a thing not to be met 
with where pride prevails ; it is not to be found in the king- 
doms of this world. And it is a good reason why no men 
should have absolute power and authority over others, because 
they are not possessed of a sufficient degree of mercy to regulate 
that power. Suppose, my Lords, you had as much might as 
you have inclination, what would become of those whom you 
account your enemies. Would you imitate, the Almighty in 
forgiving their offences, and shewing them mercy? Or would 
you not rather choose to exert your power in making them feel 
the heavy effects of your vengeance and indignation ? 

The Saviour, who uttered these words in our text, is a kind, 
gracious, and merciful Lord; he has shewn his kindness by the 
most expressive actions of benevolence and regard ; " he has 
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows and, by his obedience 
unto death, he hath obtained eternal redemption for men, in 
whose name, and for whose sakes and interests, he appears as 
an high priest over the house of God in heaven, to manage all their 
spiritual concerns through time unto eternity. He is now, my 



Isaiah, liti. 10, 



Lords, 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



5 



Lords, in heaven, at the right hand of God, exalted in our nature; 
as the Redeemer of sinful creatures: but before he took his 
leave of this world, in which he was very ill-treated by many 
people of your rank and character, he was pleased to leave his 
blessing behind him, and charged his Apostles to go through the 
world, and publish it to all ranks of human creatures, of which 
you of my audience are a part. 

I am going to shew, First, What that gospel which the 
Apostles preached declares concerning human creatures, and 
what it reveals unto them suited to their characters. Secondly, 
shew, that such as preach the apostolic gospel have a right to 
preach it to all human creatures, I shall shew lastly, That there 
are some human creatures that are not the creatures of God. 

First, I shall shew what the gospel which the Apostles' 
preached declares concerning all human creatures. 

I. It declares that they are all sinful creatures. The Apostle 
informs us that the Scripture hath concluded all under sin ; so 
there is no reason for one man to despise another. Though 
perhaps every man's transgressions are not alike aggravated with 
circumstances of criminality, nor committed with the same 
ardent desire of sinning, and on that account are less heinous 
than the sins of those who offend wilfully, greedily, and mali- 
ciously; yet all sins, in the pure eye of the Almighty, deserve 
such a punishment as would everlastingly ruin those who com- 
mit them. Before the gospel reforms the hearts of men, they are 
in the strictest sense of the word sinners; they are guilty and 
condemned sinners, under sentence of death by the authority of 
God's holy and righteous law. Whatever may be the difference 
with regard to men's political characters, and the external form 
of their conversation, they have all but one general character iri 
the esteem of truth, and that is the character of sinners and un- 
helievers. Till such time as men believe the gospel, they never 
can have a good moral character. So far as the eyes of men can 
perceive, they may pass as blameless in the world, but the 
motives and springs of action will ever be impure till the soul be 
sanctified by the truth. A truly good moral character takes in 
more than at first we are aware of; it comprehends the inward 
sentiments of the heart being conformed to the spirit of the law 
of God, as well as its outward actions are conformable to the 
letter thereof. Ambition, pride, the love of fame, and even 
selfishness, may make men do some useful actions, which are 
better done than undone, and may answer some good purposes 
in society; but while these actions do not proceed from love to 
God and truth, they are in reality only vices coloured over with 
the semblage of virtue. Listen, my Lords, to what the royal 
Psalmist says upon this subject: " Thou desirest truth in the 
inward part, and in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know 
wisdom. 11 These words, as they are expressed by the lips of 
royalty, cannot but have a due weight with those who are fond 

C of 



6 



SERMON I. 



of approaching so near it, who bask in its beams, who are 
nourished by its influence, who live by its favour, and who 
would be phantoms without it. Truth in the heart is necessary 
to form a good moral character; for where hypocrisy and deceit 
rule or prevail, however fair the outward form of the action or 
the character may appear, it is evil in the sight of Him who 
sees the heart. Human nature, in its universal character, is per- 
haps neither much better nor worse now, than it has been in 
former ages of the world; the history of this world and the 
kingdoms thereof shews that it has been continually lying in 
wickedness. It has not grown better by age, nor more holy by 
improvement; the gospel finds the people of this world as much 
enemies to its pure doctrines and ordinances in the present 
polite age of improvement as in the times of Gothic ignorance 
and superstition. The present age, when compared with those 
times of ignorance and barbarity, is something like the man's 
bouse who was driven to the tombs by the devils, — it is swept 
and garnished, but there are still devils in it even worse than 
the first. What confirms this observation is, that the honesty 
and simplicity which the gospel teaches, are as much abhorred 
and neglected as ever; and the crimes that it forbids and con- 
demns are as greedily pursued, under the present forms of 
religion, as in the very times of heathen idolatry. Rome, the 
then mistress of the world, when the Apostle Paul wrote bis 
epistle to a church in that city, though she did not profess 
Christianity, abounded with politeness; yet we find that the 
highest characters there were tyrants, lascivious, incontinent, 
and abominable. I need only refer my audience to the first 
chapter of the epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans, to 
convince them of the truth of the above observation. But there 
must be abominable falsehoods told of the metropolis of this 
island, notwithstanding the profession of Christianity that is 
made in it by authority, if all the sins that were committed in 
Rome are not to be found therein, pursued as openly and in as 
great abundance as in that heathen city. The nearer that we 
approach to some great oiFices, where virtue ought to adorn 
authority, and where dignity ought to be a terror to vice, there 
sin reigns triumphant, and lasciviousness without blushing is 
pursued in open day. Even within the purlieus of that part of 
the town, where the thoughts of the presence of majesty ought to 
awe the sinner, the whorish woman, instead of waiting till the 
twilight, assaults the unwary stranger in the face of the sun. I 
shall say nothing of those works of wantonness which are per- 
formed in masquerade, in places of public entertainment; your 
Lordships, if you pleased, could inform the ignorant how volup- 
tuousness reigns, and laciviousness keeps its court, in these noc- 
turnal assemblies; where the idle, the wanton, and the gay, 
peers and profligates, fools and fortune-hunters, waste their 
precious time — in doing what?— in wasting their substance, 

deceiving 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



7 



deceiving their neighbours, dishonouring God, and ruining their 
own souls. May I not then say, in the words of a mighty King 
(for I shall offer no mean authorities to my noble audience), 
" Every one of them is gone back, they are altogether become 
filthy, there is none that doeth good ; no, not one"* This brings 
me to observe, in the second place, 

II. That the gospel declares that men are vile creatures. By 
sin men are not only guilty and liable to punishments, but their 
hearts are vile, their characters are polluted. Sin is a loathsome 
disease, that corrupts the moral faculty, and stains both soul and 
body. Nothing can be more vile in a rational creature, than to 
be a slave to lust and inordinate appetites. When the noble 
faculties of the mind are made dupes to bodily feelings, which 
are created by habit, and strengthened by repetition, a man is 
then acting in a character below any other animal. Whatever 
is the object of the appetite, when it is inordinately pursued, it 
debases and corrupts the mind. Some men's souls defile their 
bodies, and other men's bodies corrupt their minds. By bad 
education a person may be brought to a manner of thinking that 
may lead him to actions of the worst kind, and make him use 
his bodily functions to the vilest of purposes, which, from the 
natural constitution of the body, he would not have been so 
readily inclined to, had he not put his thoughts or principles in 
practice, and formed new habits, which at last become natural. 
In others, the strong propensity of animal desires corrupt the 
mind. This happens when men do not exercise their moral 
faculty with vigour, to restrain the impulse of bodily appetites, 
when they desire gratification beyond the bounds of right reason 
and divine laws. Men are endowed with reason and con- 
science in order to regulate their actions thereby, and to restrain 
all unreasonable animal inclinations; but if the exercise of these 
powers are abated when the animal feeling is most craving, and 
is most earnest in seeking gratification, the animal desire will 
prevail over the moral faculty, and by enjoying its object cor- 
rupt the mind; — which, after frequent repetition, will debilitate 
the powers of the soul, and form a sort of desire to comply when 
the appetite returns. This happens in some measure to all men 
who sin against the dictates of their own consciences, and are 
not strenuous in resisting sinful pleasures at first. Let the 
appetite be what it will, it will produce the same effect in stain- 
ing the soul, though perhaps not in the same degree. I shall 
give your Lordships an example of both these pollutions. 
With regard to the first, when a person has no natural pro- 
pensity to the use of wine, nor any animal desire to drink as 
much as will intoxicate him, yet by working his mind into such a 
tone of thought as that it is fashionable to learn to get drunk, may, 
by beginning the fashion, strengthen the appetite, so as to make it 



* Psalm !iii. 3, 



necessary 



s 



SERMON I. 



necessary to it, and thereby he may become a perfect wine-bibber 
and habitual drunkard. With regard to the second, we have an 
example in those who, being only pushed by some animal desire, 
pursue some certain pleasures which distract the human mind. 
This is often the case with those who know that wine will make 
them frantic if they drink any quantity, but yet have not forti- 
tude to restrain their appetite, though by indulging it they may 
both endanger their own lives and those of their friends. There 
is also a complex vileness, which arises from a mixture of passion 
and appetite, when the mind and body mutually concur in com- 
mitting sinful actions, — when the passions inflame the appetites, 
and the appetites or animal desires add fuel to the passions; as, 
for example, a revengeful person oftentimes gets drunk to> 
qualify him to execute his revenge. Some of my auditors, 
perhaps, know all these in practice better than I can describe 
them ; but it certainly shews that human nature, by some means 
or other, is become exceedingly vile, and stands much in need 
of a thorough reformation. 

There is something in all sin of an ugly nature, and sinners iq 
Scripture are delineated by very ugly epithets and figures of 
language, without any regard to the dignity of the sinner; for, 
in reality, sin takes away all dignity from a man, and renders him 
truly base. And, according to the rank and condition of the 
sinner, he is so much the more ugly, because the rank and con- 
dition of the offender makes it more unbecoming in him to 
offend. If be is a person of high rank, he ought to know better, 
and behave with more propriety. Drunkenness is a vile thing 
in a clown, but it would appear horridly ugly in a magistrate; 
theft is base even in a poor man, but it is horridly abominable in a 
man of fortune: so that it is plain, the station and condition of 
a sinner adds to the vileness of his character. It was a vile 
action in Pontius Pilate to condemn our Saviour; but it was 
superlatively base in the High- Priest to solicit his crucifixion. 
If a curate was to take a bribe, it would be un ugly thing; but 
if a Bishop was to dp it, it would poison a whole church. 

The gospel declares that all ranks of men are vile; for they 
are all guilty, and vileness constantly attends guilt. There is 
much honesty in the gospel, my Lords; it flatters no man, though 
it is good to all. An honest preacher will not wink at the 
crimes of nobility more than the sins of the commou people; 
he wijl perceive and mark the spots in the garter, as well as the 
stains of those in sack cloth. He will not be ashamed nor 
afraid to point out the unbecoming steps of those who should 
be examples to others, more than the errors of the low and incon- 
siderate vulgar. The gospel knows no distinction in pointing 
out sin; nor does it pay any regard to the gold ring or the gay 
clothing. It says, till such time as they deny themselves, and 
take up their cross and follow Christ, that they have all gone 
astray, and the wrath of Gpd abideth on them. Be not offended 

at 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



9 



at the expressions, for they are the words of the Holy Ghost, and, 
I hope, not misapplied. Some of these gospel freedoms in your 
chapel services might do you good, by putting you in mind of 
what you and all mankind are while sin has dominion over you. 
Yes, my dear Nobles, these doctrines would do good to your 
souls, and keep you in mind of your own weakness, sins, and 
depravity. Your chaplains cannot embellish them better than 
they are in the word of God; they have nothing to do, but to 
preach them in love and sincerity, without partiality, and to 
leave the success to the great Bishop and Shepherd of Souls, Be 
not offended that the word of God informs you that you have 
all gone astray. You know it yourselves, and your consciences 
tell you so every day, provided you would listen to their notices 
and admonitions. Every one that loves you will tell you the 
same thing, till you shew forth that self-denial which is worthy 
of a Christian character, and is even an honour to a Minister 
of State. 

But as the things I have proposed to discuss cannot be over- 
taken til one Discourse, I shall at this time conclude by addressing 
your Graces and your Lordships in that character which is both 
your most original one, and that which you have most, generally 
practised. You have all sinned, and come short of the glory of 
God : and though you are Ministers of State and very great men, 
you are also very great sinners ; and so much the more so, as you 
are by Providence exalted into high stations of life, and entrusted 
with great offices and powers of government, which you have 
not fulfilled or exercised as you ought to have done. Which of 
you can lay his hand upon his heart, bow his knees before God, 
and, looking up to heaven, say, " I have done all in my station 
that was in my power to have done. 1 have neither neglected any 
divine institution that it was my duty to observe, nor profaned 
any ordinance that has the sanction of divine revelation. I 
have never spoken any thing except truth to my sovereign; 
never intended anything but good to my country ; never co- 
veted power for any other end than to do good to all mankind, 
and am now disposed to resign my trust, if I cannot answer these 
purposes?" Allow me to address you in the words of the Lord 
to the people of Israel : O that there were such an heart in you, 
that you would fear the Lord, and keep his commandments, that it 
might he well with you/ 11 * I know the word sinner will sound 
harsh in your ears, who are not accustomed to hear such plain 
doctrines; but, my Lords, provided you ever intend to obtain 
mercy, and be admitted into the kingdom of God's dear Son, 
you must admit of this idea. I can give you both divine and 
royal authority for this observation. Hear what a mighty sove- 
reign says, a king that was set up by God himself, and is called 
the nian according to God's own heart: " Have mercy upon me, 



* Depteronomy, v. 20. 



Lord, 



10 



SERMON I. 



Lord, according to thy loving-kindness ; according to the multi- 
tude of thy tender mercies blot out my trafisgressions. Wash me 
thoroughly from mine iniquities, and cleanse me from my sins; for 

1 acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 
Against thee only have 1 sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; that 
thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and clear when thou 
judgest. Behold, 1 was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my 
mother conceive me."* David allows and confesses t hat he was 
a sinner, and a great sinner; and you must admit the same sen- 
timent, if ever you intend to obtain mercy. What gives me 
reason to conclude that you are great sinners, not only in the 
common acceptation of the word, but in a more special sense 
thereof, is,— that sin has greatly abounded since you came into 
preferment. The whole empire is full of malice, envy, and 
evil-speaking; and all sorts of-wickedness abound. Before you 
came into office, the sword was not drawn; brethren did not 
shed one another's blood, and they seemed even averse to it, till 
by some influence they were pushed on to it. Some say, my 
Lords, that it was you that did it; if it be so, you have much to 
answer for, the Lord will require it at your hands. This is a 
very serious matter; I heartily wish you may lay it to heart, 
and repent of it. It is much to be questioned if any arguments 
can be adduced of sufficient force to justify those violent mea- 
sures which you have pursued. I shall allow that those men 
were and are sinners that you are now pursuing with the ven- 
geance of war. Perhaps they have sinned against the majesty of 
our sovereign, and the supremacy of this country, and against 
you, my Lords; but were there no other methods, no other 
measures to be discovered, to answer the ends of government, 
but this dreadful ultimatum of shedding of blood? They had 
been disorderly, it is said: this may be all true; but let me 
whisper a secret in your ears — Was there not some cause? 
Were there not some irritating measures pursued, novel in their 
appearance, and hard in their consequences; not observed by 
the lenient hand of wisdom and mercy, but pushed on by the 
iron hand of power and authority, suddenly, rashly, and preci- 
pitately? Did there not appear something more of the love of 
dominion, than an intention of doing good, in some particular 
exertions of government? This has been said; I wish it may 
not be true, for your sakes, and for the sake and honour of this 
nation. Britain must be disgraced for ever, if she has gone to 
war with her brethren upon a ground that her children will 
tremble to offer as a reason at the judgment-seat of 'Christ. How 
many both wicked and innocent mortals have been sent out of 
time into eternity without so much as having a moment to say, 
Lord, have mercy upon us! And for what? I know not; your 
Lordships both know and must answer for it. I am unwilling 

* Psalm li. 1. 

to 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



11 



to give credit to the half that is said against you on this head, I 
heartily wish that the thousandth part may not be true. You 
serve a gracious and mighty sovereign, and have the charge of 
the affairs of a great and an extensive empire; you ought to 
take care not to lose any of it by pride, rashness, and ambition. 
Our sovereign has a young, rising, and beautiful family of princes 
and princesses, that promise fair to be ornaments to government 
and the Protestant religion ; you should take special care, and 
not diminish their dominions, by rushing upon impossibilities, 
and trying desperate and uncertain experiments. Before you 
began such a desperate career, you should have reflected upon 
a good old maxim — " Let not him that putteth on the harness 
boast as he that putteth it off." Like the little horn mentioned 
by Daniel, in setting out you spoke and threatened great things; 
but these words were not the words of wisdom, but of pride and 
rashness; you ought first to have asked counsel of the Lord, and 
have been certain of the moral reasons of your conduct. My 
Lords, there is a wise almighty Providence that always ought 
to be regarded and consulted in all our enterprises. Indeed, you 
have asked his aid and assistance to help you to pursue your 
own counsels: but this was only insulting him; for you did not . 
ask his wisdom, but trusted to your own; and when you found 
might begin to fail, you did not ask direction to correct mistakes, 
but power to pursue your own measures. All these things 
prove that you are great sinners, and objects of divine mercy ; all 
your hopes must rest upon the mercy of that God who delights 
therein. Would you now, from just apprehensions of the mercy 
of God, strive to imitate him, in shewing mercy to those whom 
you have conceived have offended or affronted you, perhaps 
you would soon reconcile your ancient friends, and be secured 
against all the insults and power of your enemies. But you 
say, you are ready to forgive them, provided they will repent 
and return to their duty. O my Lords, eat these words. This 
is not the way to produce repentance and amendment in offen- 
ders. Forgive them first, as God forgives sinners, and then we 
will reach this end. " When we were sinners, Christ died for 
us-" and it is" the goodness of God that leads men to repent- 
ance" I am going now to tell you, what perhaps none of your 
Doctors or Chaplains ever told you, that repentance is pro- 
duced by means very different from those which you have 
adopted, and that you have no just ideas of the true cause of 
repentance. The Almighty brings sinners to repentance by for- 
giving their offences, and heaping favours upon them. This 
melts the stubborn heart, and softens all the rugged passions and 
obstinate principles of the soul; when the mercy and kindness 
of God are made manifest, as they always are when men truly 
repent of their sins, they meliorate all the affections of the mind, 
and fill the soul with true gratitude. But perhaps you will tell 
me, the crime is capital. Suppose it is, it is not the first capital 

crime 



12 



SERMON I. 



crime the Sovereign lias forgiven when there were wise purposes 
to be answered. Mercy is not only a royal prerogative, but a 
godlike one. Your crimes and mine, my Lords, are capital, 
which we have committed against the laws and sovereignty of 
God ; and if we were to receive what we deserve, our case would 
be miserable. But our gracious God forgives sin, and shews 
mercy for his name's sake. May not our Sovereign, and you, 
his servants, try to imitate him in this particular? mind, it is a po- 
sitive precept, " Be ye merciful as your Father which is in heaven 
is merciful" My dear Nobles, you cannot get off; it comes 
home to you, it speaks to your consciences. You cannot cer- 
tainly refuse to hear the words of a kind and merciful Saviour, 
who gave his life's blood for guilty and great sinners like your- 
selves. Perhaps you will think me rude for pushing you so 
hard ; but I mean it not : — I mean to be plain, and easily under- 
stood ; and if, by shewing you the goodness and mercy of God, 
I shall be the instrument of making you like him, T shall be well 
rewarded, and you will have no loss, but gain. These instruc- 
tions shall take nothing from you; they shall neither reduce 
your finances, nor give you the trouble of finding preferment for 
the preacher; he wants it not, and knows that his method of 
preaching is not the way to it: contentment and satisfaction are 
sufficient preferment for him. I wish your Graces and your 
Lordships may seek after a preferment which will last after these 
shadows you are grasping at are fled away. Time is very swift, 
and all flesh is fading: now is the accepted time, now is the day 
of salvation. The curtain will soon be withdrawn, the scenes 
will be winded up, and you must enter into another system to 
give an account of your actions. And observe, after death 
there is a judgment, a just judgment, a solemn judgment: you 
never saw such an one in Westminster-Hall, in all the trials you 
have seen there. It will be a judgment where there is hope for 
almost all sorts of offenders except one sort, namely, the un- 
merciful; and for those there is none. By giving my authority 
for this sentiment, I shall conclude this Discourse with observing, 
that " He shall have judgment without mercy that hath shewed 
no mercy ; and mercy rejoiceth agaijist judgment ."* 



* James, ii. 13. 



SERMON 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



is 



SERMON II. 
Mark, xvi. 15. 

Preach the gospel to every creature.-— He that believeth shall be 
saved; and he that believeth not shall be damned, 

T ORD, have mercy upon us! these are dreadful words. But 
^ we shall pass them over, and proceed to the second thing 
contained in the first head proposed in this text — -to shew 
what it is the gospel reveals suited to the characters of sinful 
creatures. 

I. The gospel reveals to sinful creatures forgiveness of sins. 
I have made it out to a demonstration, that your Graces and 
Lordships are guilty, sinful, and vile creatures; which, there is 
reason to believe, were no glad tidings to you. But I am now 
going to shew you glad tidings of great joy to all people— -tidings 
which may be of great service to you now, and which only can 
give you hope in view of death, judgment, and eternity. The 
gospel of divine grace and mercy informs us of forgiveness of 
sin to the guilty and condemned. There are such words as 
these pronounced graciously, " Lo, I am he that blotteth out 
your iniquities for my own sake, and will remember your sins 
no more. 1 * It is by the gospel only that we are informed of the 
possibility of forgiveness of sin, and by no other means. If my 
audience will please to ask their own hearts, when they reflect 
upon their past transgressions, whether they have any hope of 
forgiveness from any feeling or sensation in their own minds, or 
from any thing they have learned in the world from experience, 
I will venture to pronounce they shall declare they are hopeless. 
There are no instances in the world of men being forgiven their 
offences till they repent and forsake their crimes, and then the 
pardon proceeds upon the footing of repentance and amendment, 
which, though it may not be full merit, yet is something taken 
into the consideration of the judge who pardons the offence. 
But the gospel shews sinners a better and a more comfortable 
method: it shews us how God justifies the ungodly; and that 
when we were sinners, Christ died for us. The gospel shews us 
that repentance is not the act or work of a guilty and con- 
demned sinful creature, but of one who is pardoned, and hates 
sin from a true sense of mercy and forgiveness; and it also 
teaches us that it is the goodness of God that leads men and 
brings them to repentance. The prophet Jeremiah has most 
beautifully touched this subject in describing the case of 
Ephraim : " Surely after I was turned I repented; and after I 

D was 



14 



SERMON It. 



was instructed I smote upon my thigh, I was ashamed, yea, 
even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth." 
Repentance proceeds from a sense of pardon and forgiveness. 
It is that renders it possible, by affording good hope, which it 
could not by any other way; for a person under the power and 
dominion of sih/Vitbout all hope of overcoming his lusts, will 
never hate iniquity, but roll it as a sweet morsel under his 
tongue. The severest pain and punishment cannot produce re- 
pentance of sin, otherwise the devils would have forsaken it 
long ago. There is a very great difference between godly sor- 
row, that worketh repentance to salvation never to be repented 
of, and the sorrow of the world that worketh death. Godly 
sorrow proceeds from a grateful soul, sensible of the favour of 
pardon and forgiveness, and for that reason is called godly, be- 
cause it proceeds from the favour of God. But the sorrow of 
the world arises merely from pain and uneasiness, issues in 
despair, and is deaf to all sense of gratitude. It is manifest 
from the gospel which the apostles preached, that godly sorrow 
goes before repentance unto salvation ; and that this is produced 
by an information of pardon and forgiveness, which operates 
upon the soul with a spiritual energy, producing every grateful 
feeling for the favour received. My Lords, all the plans of re- 
pentance that are commonly taught by your Chaplains and 
Bishops are very comfortless; for they can never happen, and 
are impossible. It has not once happened since Adam tasted 
the fruit of the forbidden tree, that any of his guilty and 
sinful offspring ever repented of sin, till God was mercifully 
pleased to forgive them, and blot out their transgressions. This 
works godly sorrow, and godly sorrow works repentance. 

II. The gospel shews the true legal reason upon which God 
proceeds, when he pardons iniquity, and forgives such vile 
sinners as you and I are. It informs us that it is for the sake of 
his Son's righteousness, and the atonement that he made for the 
sins of guifiy men, that he pardons them. When some persons 
reflect upon the character and attributes of God, the strictness 
and perfection of the Divine law, and the immutable nature of 
truth and justice, tjiey may be ready to hesitate concerning the 
possibility of forgiveness, unless some legal and equitable 
reason can be shewn, why God, consistently with his character, 
can forgive creatures that have so highly offended him, without 
executing the sentence of the law passed against them. The 
gospel delivers them from this dilemma, and shews that he so 
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son to redeem it; 
and that for his righteousness he is well pleased. It leads the 
views of a sinner to the cross of Christ, and publishes in his 
hearing these memorable and comfortable words, It is finished. 
This gospel makes manifest the legal connexion between Christ 
and his people, even in their guilty situation, and sets forth that, 
by a voluntary substitution of himseif in their stead, he was 

made 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



15 



made sin for them, who knew no sin, that they might be made 
the righteousness of God for his sake. Thus, though they see 
no reason why God should forgive sinners on their own account, 
they find a sufficient reason in the gospel why, consistently with 
his own attributes, he may forgive the very chief of them. 
They are thereby delivered from this hesitation concerning the 
justice of God in pardoning iniquity, and find by an information 
that " He is just when he justifies the ungodly." 

III. It reveals liberty and free intercourse with God; and in- 
forms the sinner, that when God pardons, he also provides for 
them, and neither leaves them destitute, nor without comfort ; 
that those whom he justifies he also adopts into his family, and 
gives them the privilege of children. You know, my Lords, a 
simple pardon to a destitute man, who has nothing to live upon, 
and can make no provision for himself, would be but small 
comfort, and would only make him drag out life in pain and 
uneasiness; he might exist, but could not be said to live, because 
even life would be a burden. But a pardon, attended with a 
comfortable provision, would be ready to make him happy. 
Our gracious God, when he pardons and forgives sinners, also 
provides for them ; takes them into his family, and gives them 
a name better than that of sons and daughters; feeds them with 
the fatness of his house, and nourishes their souls with heavenly 
and spiritual blessings. What is more, he gives them the Com- 
forter, the Spirit of his Son, who teaches them the language of 
his house, and learns them to say, Abba, Father. This Spirit of 
truth gives them also a relish for the enjoyment, which adds 
much to their happiness, and makes their new situation agree- 
able. The Almighty never pardons a sinner, and then leaves 
him to his own discretion, but puts him under ttrtorage, and 
commits him to the Steward of his house, the great Bishop and 
Shepherd of souls, Under this head are contained all things that 
soul or body can possibly need. The liberty of the sons of 
God is a glorious liberty; there is nothing like it in the king- 
doms of this world. All the boasted liberty of this kingdom, 
where you direct affairs, my Lords, is mere slavery, compared 
to that liberty which the gospel manifests to sinners, and which 
those enjoy whose sins are pardoned, and their iniquities for- 
given. They are free from bondage and slavery to their lusts, 
passions, and appetites, and have the command of their own 
affections, so that " sin has no dominion over them, because they 
are not under the law, but under grace." It is no uncommon 
thing in the kingdoms of this world to find men boasting of 
their liberties, who are mere slaves to the unruly and ungovern- 
able passions and lusts of their own hearts; who, when they are 
the slaves of the god of this world, pretend to be the votaries of 
fair freedom and glorious liberty. But men who cannot, govern 
themselves cannot be said to be free; persons who are covetous, 
proud, selfish, malicious, and lascivious, are in bondage and 

slavery 



16 



SERMON II. 



slavery of the worst sort. In the kingdom of Christ there are 
no such persons; all the subjects there are holy, just, and pure, 
lovers of God and of all men. In this kingdom every man 
speaks from the heart what he thinks, and wears no mask or 
disguise. All the outward signs which believers make use of to 
signify their intentions, whether words or actions, are the true 
indices of their own hearts. This is more than can be said of 
either the courts or kingdoms of this world. My audience well 
know what shifts they are obliged to make to varnish and 
colour over many principles and actions, which, provided they 
were not in masquerade, and dressed in feigned and fictitious 
attire, but set forth in their own natural characters and attitudes, 
and their nakedness to appear, would be disgusting at first view, 
and be abhorred even by vile men themselves. This must cer^ 
tainly be an hardship, and a difficulty in which no good men 
■would wish to be entangled, for fear of losing all the feelings of 
the moral sense, and becoming reprobate to every good work. 
Of all sorts of men whatsoever, there are none among all the 
various characters in nations or kingdoms in such jeopardy of 
having their hearts hardened in sin, and against virtue, as Minis- 
ters of State, and political Ministers of Religion; for these both 
speak so often what they do not believe nor think, that the most 
devilish falsehoods, through a habit of lying, become natural to 
them. The many unfulfilled promises made to men who have 
served their country and sovereign are a strong proof of this 
observation. You know, my Lords, how many favours you have 
bestowed upon a set of worthless and idle members of the com - 
munity, who are rather a nuisance to the public than a benefit ; 
which favours were certainly in the first place due to your own 
promises, and these useful members of the community, to whom 
they were made. How many brave and honest men, who have 
served their country with the greatest fidelity, at the hazard of 
their lives, and at the expence of some members of their bodies, 
are pining away with the scanty pittance of a lieutenant's half- 
pay, when boys are preferred to lucrative places over their heads, 
and persons who needed no supply devour what is the right of 
others both in equity and by promise! How many vain, un- 
meaning, and flimsy promises, are Courtiers and Ministers of 
State obliged to make, to serve the purposes of rotten policy or 
vile ambition, which oftentimes do not succeed to their wishes, 
but always leave a blot on their characters, and a sting in their 
consciences, behind them. Christians, who are true children of 
the kingdom of heaven, are under none of these embarrass- 
ments; their liberty is real, and not specious; it consists in 
solid freedom, which, in the first instance, respects the mind. 
It is certainly a condition of the greatest slavery, for men to be 
perpetually watching both to deceive themselves and others, by 
forming uncertain projects, which no man can promise will 
succeed. And it is certainly a state of the most excellent 

liberty, 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



17 



liberty, to be free from dishonesty, hypocrisy, arid deceit, and 
from those embarrassments of mind which acts of insincerity 
produce in the souls of hypocrites upon special occasions. 

IV". The gospel reveals to such vile and sinful creatures as 
my audience consists of, that Jesus Christ is to come again, 
without sin, unto salvation, to reward his people, to change 
their vile bodies, and to fashion them like unto his glorious 
body. This is an information which is no where to be found 
but in the gospel. When the bodies of men are laid in the 
grave, and mingled with their native dust, all hopes of the re- 
surrection, from any appearances in nature, are cut off. No 
man can certainly learn, from any data in physics, that these 
mortal fabrics shall be raised and restored again. Here the skill 
of the philosopher ends, and his researches can proceed no fur- 
ther. But the gospel gives those who have been called out of 
darkness into God's marvellous light " the sure and certain hope 
of a resurrection unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.'* 
The resurrection of the body is a doctrine of no small import- 
ance; for there is no doubt but that our mind must have some 
sympathy and feeling for the happiness of so intimate a com- 
panion, with which it has been so closely connected, and with 
which it has undergone so many sufferings, and enjoyed so many 
pleasures in the world. The word of revelatien gives certain 
information how dear the very dust of good men is to the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and that he icill raise it up at the last day. 

The change which the bodies of the children of Christ's king- 
dom at the resurrection of the just shall undergo, will be such, 
that it could never have entered into the heart of man to con- 
ceive any thing concerning it, provided the gospel had not re- 
vealed it, and made it known. To change a corruptible body 
into incorruptible, and what is more, into a spiritual character, 
is what human wisdom would declare impossible. Body and 
spirit are so different in our ideas, that what we generally attri- 
bute to the character of the one, we deny to the other. But 
the apostolic gospel informs us, that Christ shall change his peo- 
ple's vile bodies, and fashion them like unto his own glorious 
body. Yea, the Apostle positively affirms, that though it be 
sown in the dust a natural body, and corruptible, it shall be 
raised a spiritual one. Our bodies in their present state are 
frequently a heavy clog to our minds; they interrupt our mental 
exercises, either by their infirmities or appetites, and make our 
souls act slowly in many noble pursuits. But the gospel informs 
us, that at the resurrection of the just our bodies shall be made 
fit organs for our souls to perform every spiritual function, and 
shall no more retard its operations. 

A spiritual body will appear a solecism in our common style; 
and it is so; for as far as it is body, it cannot be spirit: but its 
spirituality is to be considered in a comparative sense ; it shall 
be so much spiritualized, that it shall differ as much from all 

the 



18 



SERMON II. 



the common properties which we ascribe to bodies, that there 
shall be little found in which there shall be any agreement. 
Though body can never be the same with spirit, without chang- 
ing the natures of both, yet the Divine power and providence 
can, and will make the bodies of believers as much different from 
the nature of gross and vile bodies, that they shall deserve the 
character of spiritual ones: and this I take to be the meaning of 
the Apostle when he speaks concerning a spiritual body. The 
strongest, the purest, and the finest of human bodies, in this 
present state of imperfection, are corruptible in their nature, 
which is the ground-work of all diseases and pains that befal 
them; but when corruption is purged away, all disease and 
pain shall cease. 

My audience, however gaily they may deck and decorate their 
bodies, they cannot preserve them from vileness and corruption, 
or shield them from pain, uneasiness, and death. Diseases, 
pains, and bodily infirmities, as often invade the cabinet as the 
cottage of the peasant. These gouts, stones and gravel, hypo- 
chondrias, and apoplexies, that are so often seen snatching away 
peers as well as profligates, shew plainly that there is corruption 
every where. It is some satisfaction to those who fear God, 
that there, is a period when death and corruption shall cease, 
and when mortality shall be swallowed up in life. But I shall 
at this time take my leave of your Lordships, by observing, that 
there is no other way of being freed from guilt, vileness, and 
death, but by that scheme set forth in the gospel. Your Graces 
and Lordships may have heard some fine disquisitions concern^ 
ing virtue and its rewards, in some courtly discourses from Bi- 
shops and Doctors of your church; but I cannot think that 
either they or your Lordships are fully persuaded of the truth of 
these doctrines; for, provided you were fully convinced that 
virtue ought to be rewarded, and that it will be so at last, you 
and they would certainly prefer the virtuous to the bad, and 
distribute your favours only to men of worth and integrity, pro- 
vided they could be found. But do we not often see, in the 
church, modern learned men confined to the low walks of a 
mean country curacy, when those who have friends are preferred 
to the highest dignities without any regard to their merit. See 
we not men of virtue and literature working and starving upon 
thirty or forty pounds a year, while many of small learning 
and less integrity are devouring thousands, and doing nothing? 
Is not this also the case in the departments of civil government? 
He that can flatter, cringe, and fawn upon Ministers of State, 
can square his conscience by his temporal interest, and obey the 
commands of his patron, is placed in the warm sunshine of fa- 
vour, where he basks at ease, and wallows in affluence and 
plenty; while the conscientious person, the man of integrity, 
who will not sell his conscience for the sake of filthy lucre, is 
suffered to pass his days in neglect, retirement, and obscurity, — 

not 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



not because he is unknown, but because he is known to love 
virtue, bis country, and its true interests. It would appear 
that those harangues concerning virtue and its rewards are to be 
read backwards, and so to be understood, as if virtuous men 
were not to be rewarded, because your faith does not produce 
those works which you profess are excellencies in the Almighty, 
If any believe that God approves of virtue, and will reward it* 
he will certainly shew an example of his belief by rewarding 
virtuous men, whenever he can. It is no good proof that men 
love either religion or virtue, by only speaking of them. The 
regard shewn thereto by good works, and the doing what is truly 
virtuous, are the best testimonies of a man's understanding and 
believing what they are. There are many things in which, 
perhaps, my audience and I may differ; but there is one 
thing in which we cannot differ, unless we be desperately 
wicked, and that is, to do to others as we, in the like cir- 
cumstances, would wish them to do to us. This is the spi- 
rit of both the law and the prophets. It is a matter, my 
Lords, not at all doubtful, that there is some prodigious 
error in the government of nations, when sins of all sorts 
openly abound. A king, whose authority I have more than 
once referred to, affirms it as an indisputable point, that 
when vile men are exalted, the wicked walk on every side. 
It is not so much the influence of penal laws, as the example 
of lawgivers and magistrates, that will keep the people in order, 
and restrain them from the commission of vice. If a method 
can be found to make men good, they will neither offend nor do 
evil; but till then, not all the sanctions in the world can support 
government. If rulers, by their example, lead the subjects 
astray, and, by setting an ill pattern before them, pervert their 
manners, they may execute penal laws till they leave but one 
individual, and that same individual will still be wicked when 
it is in his power. It is the softening, humbling, and meliorating 
truths of the gospel, that form men's hearts to fear God, and 
obey his laws. Believers will neither transgress good laws, 
nor despise good government ; they know their duty, and will 
do it from choice. These men will give you but very little 
trouble; but if, by your example, you have lead men who 
have been looking up unto you astray from the paths of truth, 
you must not expect that they will walk uprightly, when they 
find that you yourselves account it no crime to wander out of 
the way of understanding. If the doctrines of the gospel were 
more inculcated by you, my Lords, in your several departments, 
and more care observed to see them propagated among the 
subjects than they are — if this were the case, I say, it would be 
a more effectual method of making the laws to be observed, 
than by the force of a standing army. But this is more than can 
be expected from such as are really ignorant of that grace and 

self-deniai 



$0 ' SERMON II. 

self-denial which the gospel contains in itj and from men whose 
passions are their masters, and whose appetites govern them. 
This is wearisome practical doctrine, my Lords ; I shall there- 
fore conclude. 



Sermon hi. 

Mark, xvi. 15. 
Preach the gospel to every creature. 

MORE gospel still ! Is it not a mercy, my Lords, con- 
sidering what bad entertainment it meets with, that it is 
'not taken away altogether? But can any thing be more agree- 
able than good news and glad tidings? tidings from a far 
country — a country you never saw, though your greatest interests 
are in it, and the chief of treasures is there. Good news of 
mercy, pardon, forgiveness, and purification, for guilty, vile, and 
filthy creatures, who will be miserable to eternity, without the 
benefit of those blessings that are contained in this heavenly 
news. It is reported that some of you would choose to have 
peace, and your enemies affirm that you have no good intention 
in desiring it. But the tidings now brought to your ears will 
put you upon a true plan, as well as they proclaim peace to 
those that are in a state of warfare and rebellion. The plan to 
have peace with your enemies is short and comprehensive, and it 
is the plan of a king also, and conies to you with double au- 
thority. Jehovah and Solomon are the authors of it: the 
scheme is expressed in these words: " When a man's ways 
please the Lord, he icill make even his enemies to he at peace 
with him." That is the plan, my Lords, and you should think 
of it. But the gospel brings belter tidings still ; it informs us 
how peace with God is obtained: " We have peace with God 
through our Lord Jtsus Christ" He is the sinner's peace, who 
hath obtained it by his blood. But, my Lords, I am now going 
to insist upon my right to preach the gospel to you ; and I hope 
I shall not say a rude thing to your Lordships, Reverences, or 
Graces, or whatever may be your ministerial or official names 
and titles. I purpose to say nothing but truth, and truth worthy 
to be heard and received, and necessary to be embraced by 
you. 

My right to preach to you is founded upon a commandment, 
and upon your being creatures. Go preach-~-and to whom?— - 

to 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



•1 



to every creature — be they high, or be they low — be they Ministers 
of State, or beggars upon a dunghill — preach to them all — there 
is no difference here. If creatures have souls to be saved, all 
is one, preach to them — but preach the gospel. Some will think 
it impertinent for me to preach to such great men— such high 
men — such rich and powerful men, who rule nations, give 
counsel to princes, and laws to nations. But stop there — Are 
they not creatures, sinful creatures, mortal creatures? Do they 
not die like other men, and have souls like the rest of mankind? 
Why, then, they are within the reach of this commission in the 
text; and if they shouid be offended at me, I hope they will not 
be offended at the Prophets and Apostles of Jesus Christ giving 
them a sermon. But first let me be assured that I am speaking 
or writing to creatures. What is a creature ? There are several 
sorts of creatures; there are animate and inanimate creatures. 
The latter can neither hear nor see, therefore they are not the 
creatures here understood. But animal or living creatures are 
of different kinds; there are rational and irrational creatures: 
it must be the animal rationale that is here the object of preach- 
ing. The schools inform us that this animal is man. Homo esf 
rationalis is the definition. The creatures to whom the gospel 
is to be preached are men — of all sorts, ranks, and degrees; and 
under this term women must be included; for Moses calls the 
■woman Isha, a she-man. Therefore the kind words of truth are 
to be preached to the human race — men, women, and children. 
There is one thing, my Lords, that I find I must prove, and I am 
afraid of meeting with some groveling objections in my way: 
I ouoht, in the first place, to prove that you are animalia ra* 
tionalia y or rational creatures. But your enemies throw several 
objections in my way, which I shall attempt to answer the best 
way I can. They say that your conduct for several years past 
has been very irrational; that you have formed schemes you 
were not able to execute, and promised what you knew you were 
not able to accomplish; that you have raised vast sums of 
money, and wasted it to no purpose; that though you know 
you are wrong, yet you are not willing to amend, nor able to go 
right. They say you have lost thirteen provinces, and gained 
nothing but shame and reproach; and yet, after all, you are so 
self-willed, that you will not give up offices you cannot fulfil to 
others who would manage them better. How think you, my 
Lords, am I to answer these objections? These stand very much 
in the way of your being allowed to he rational creatures. I 
shall endeavour to take off the force of them all, that I may 
establish my right of preaching the gospel unto you. 

In the first place, Non possumus omnia; rational creatures 
cannot do all things. Men may form very good schemes, but 
not have power to execute them ; reason is not always attended 
with power to act, especially when more powerful causes coun- 
teract their designs. Your Lordships might form a very good 

E scheme, 



22 



SERMON IIL 



scheme, which, provided some more powerful cause .had not 
counteracted, might have succeeded. You seem rather to have 
acted against Providence; which will make you rational crea- 
tures, but at the same time very sinful ones: and this removes 
the first objection, and makes you creatures within the reach of 
the gospel, because it is preached to sinners, of whom you are the 
chief. Be not offended at the comparison, for in this I have 
compared you to the Apostle Paul, who says he was one of the 
chief of sinners. Having thus placed you in good company, 
you have no reason to be either affronted or offended. But to 
proceed to your vindication, and the proof of my own right to 
preach to you — Your enemies should remember, that if they 
can prove you to be irrational creatures, they will also prove 
themselves to be fools, because they cannot fix blame where 
there is no reason : and you know they have been blaming you 
most severely these several years ; they have called you many 
strange names, and imputed many bad and evil things unto you, 
and have hinted that you deserved to be severely punished for 
your wicked conduct and behaviour. But how foolish would 
both their charges be against you, and their desires of having 
you called to an account, if you are not rational creatures! This 
objection will militate against your enemies as much as against 
yourselves, and prove their want of reason and understanding, 
in seeking to prove you guilty of several crimes, when it is im- 
possible for you to commit any. 

That you have raised vast sums of money, and wasted them to 
no manner of purpose, is a foolish objection. I suppose you 
yourselves will not refuse that the money is wasted, or, if you 
please, spent and gone out of the treasury ; but there are many 
other purposes answered by it. Many of your friends are en- 
riched, and your dependents well supplied; many ships have 
been fitted out, many regiments raised, several camps formed, 
some reviews both by sea and land have been made, thousands 
of innocent people have been killed, virgins have been ravished 
and scalped, and the hoary head hath been cleft in two with the 
tomahawk by the hands of cruel savages. All these things have 
been done by the influence of large sums of money ; and there- 
fore your enemies are guilty of the grossest slander in saying that 
there has been nothing done with the large sums that have 
been raised. How can your enemies have the conscience to say, 
that nothing has been done with the money you have raised. 
Was there not an army of more than ten thousand men sent to 
Canada? Did not this army march from Quebec, cross the lakes, 
and proceed as far as Saratoga in their way to Albany, where 
many were slain, and the rest taken prisoners? Could all this 
be done without money? What have your accusers to say to 
this? They are silent, and shall never open their mouths any 
more. How can people be so unreasonable as to imagine that 
fifty thousand land forces, with ships to carry them, and pro- 
visions 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



23 



visions to maintain them, could be transported three thousand 
miles without money? and, what is more, to be kept four years 
in a country where they were ready to have part taken from 
them, which it was necessary to supply with double quantities. 
And could your Lordships help voracious contractors devouring 
large sums, by often putting the money in their own pockets, and 
serving you with very bad commodities? You have been, my 
Lords, very ill used by all parties. But your greatest enemies 
cannot have the conscience to say that you have done nothing. 

But they say you have been wrong, and are not willing to be 
set right. That is another affair, which does not prove that you 
want reason and understanding; it only infers, as they seem to 
intend, that you have ill consciences. If this is the case, then 
you are great sinners, and come within the commission in my 
text. Your adversaries have therefore gained nothing by their 
objections hitherto. They have only proved you to be poor 
miserable sinners like themselves, and stand in need of mercy. 

But it is affirmed, that you have lost thirteen provinces. This 
is exceedingly malicious and ill-natured; for these provinces are 
just where they were twenty years ago, and in the possession of 
those they truly belong to. How then can your enemies have 
the conscience to say that you have lost them? Will any man 
in his senses believe that men can lose the thing they never had? 
There must be some sophism in the arguments of your enemies, 
which does not appear at first sight. They are something like 
the waggish boy who wanted to make his mother believe she 
had five eggs when she had only three. They want to charge 
you with losing what you never possessed, nor had any right 
to. I should not wonder if these enemies of your's, my Lords, 
should charge you with losing France, Dominica, and several 
other places, which are not your own. But they also say that 
you are self-willed, and will not give up what you cannot manage 
yourselves to others who can. But how do they know who can 
manage affairs better than you? they only know what you can 
do; but those that are untried, who can tell what they either 
will or can do? But let them put themselves in your situation, 
and ask their own minds whether, provided they were in as 
lucrative places as you are, they would choose to part with them? 
It must be envy, my Lords, that makes them talk in such a 
manner; they want the perquisites which belong to your offices, 
and for that reason they covet the office. But where will tney 
find those other persons that will manage better than you have 
done? You have them fast there; they cannot give an answer 
to that question. And you have brought matters to that situa- 
tion, that few will be fond of succeeding you, unless those that 
mean to pursue the same plan that you have done. This shews 
that though you be sinful creatures, yet you are still animalia 
rationalia, which is the point I wanted to prove. 

Suffer me now to consider some of those duties that are ex- 
pected 



24 



SERMON III. 



pected from you as rational creatures exalted into high stations 
of life. 

First, as counsellors, you ought to give your sovereign good 
advice, such counsel and advice as one would wish to give with 
eternity in their eyes, and the judgment-seat of Christ before 
them. Your counsels ought to be disinterested, free from sel- 
fishness, and void of all hypocrisy. You have much to answer 
for, if from selfish considerations you have misled a sovereign who 
trusts to your fidelity, and depends upon your counsels. He 
believes you to be his sincere friends, and puts confidence in you 
as wise counsellors. Do not betray him for the sake of gain, 
honour, or ambition. It ought to be one leading part of your 
study to advise him to love his people, and point out such 
measures as will procure their affections and endeared regards. 
With this he will be safe and easy against all his foes, and for- 
tified against every foreign enemy: this is one leading object 
necessary to be pursued for the happiness of all parties, and 
very necessary for your own honour. It is a beautiful thing to 
see a king and his subjects united in their affection, and cemented 
with love! They will then pray and fight for him, and reverence 
him from the heart: there will in such a case be no want of 
ready servants to support his dignity, and preserve his person 
and real interest, nor want of ready money for all needful ex- 
pences. But, my Lords, beware of setting the king and his sub- 
jects at variance by false representations of the one to the other; 
sovereigns are but men, as well as their subjects, and subjects 
are frail imperfect creatures, and ready to err. Tell the sovereign 
that he must not expect more of men than they are, and advise 
him to bear their infirmities; — and do you shew the subjects 
that his Majesty is good, gentle, and gracious, by reflecting from 
your own characters those gracious rays of majesty that shine 
on yourselves; send the smiles of his goodness, which light first 
upon you, abroad among all the subjects, in acts of forbear- 
ance, long-suffering, and kindness. This will make your mas- 
ter esteemed, yourselves beloved, the nation quiet, and the peo- 
ple happy. 

But principally endeavour to rule by law, and never promote 
any statutes but such as are founded in equity, and tend to the 
welfare of all. For this pmpose read and consider the Scrip- 
tures, for in them you will find the best code of policy and 
juris prudentis. If you promote any laws contrary to the word 
of God, you may enforce them with sanctions and penalties, but 
you will never be able to make them reach the conscience, or 
make men obey them from the heart;— -nor will it be cri- 
minal in the sight of God to refuse obedience to statutes that 
are contrary to his word. My Lords, in countries like this, 
where the Scriptures are in the hands of the people, though they 
are not perused with that attention that they ought to be, yet 
when they find human laws set in opposition to the statutes of 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



25 



the Almighty, though for fear of punishment they may observe 
your commands, yet when they see no cause or' fear, or when 
they can with impunity, they will think it no sin to disobey; 
and, provided they think the opposition between human laws 
and the laws of God to be very great, they will even run the 
greatest hazards rather than submit to your authority; and 
if you punish them for transgressing, they will consider them- 
selves as martyrs for truth, and rank you in the list of per- 
secutors. But you may avoid all this by carefully consulting 
the word of God, which will direct you in all profitable 
things, and shew you every thing needful to make the man of 
God perfect. Though in these lukewarm times you may ima- 
gine that there is little danger from godly zeal, yet, my Lords, 
when it begins to kindle, it will raise such a flame as will 
put you in danger, and perhaps overturn all your schemes, and 
overset your measures. Take it as an advice from a friend, 
who really wishes you well, however much we may differ, 
to pay a just regard to Divine revelation in all your political 
proceedings, and then you will find at least arguments to 
vindicate your cause which your greatest adversaries will not 
be able to gainsay. This will keep your consciences clear 
and easy, and make you bear reproaches like men worthy of 
your offices and the trust reposed in you. But, lastly, study 
to restrain your passions and appetites. Suffer not pride, lux- 
ury, or any vile passion, to rule in your minds; for you will 
never be qualified to rule and direct the counsels of a nation, 
when you cannot govern your own lusts and affections. Can 
a man be supposed fit to rule at a navy-board, and to hold 
the helm of a nation in maritime affairs, that is blown by the 
wind of his lusts from all compass and rule, and carried by 
the tide of his appetites — to where? — the Lord knows where — 
across the ocean of sensuality into the gulf of perdition? There 
is an all-wise, great, and mighty Ruler, to whom all rulers 
must at last give an account, as well as those that are ruled, 
who has many arrows in his quiver, and can and will punish 
all injustice, wherever it is found. No temporal dignity can 
screen sinners from punishment, when they are obstinate, and 
refuse to be reclaimed. But as now is the time to consider 
these matters, I shall leave them to your consideration, and con- 
clude this Discourse. 



SERMON 



96 



SERMON IV. 



SERMON IV. 

Mark, xvi. 15. 

Preach the gospel to every creature. 

T PROMISED in the last place to shew, That there are some 
creatures that are not creatures of God. These in Scripture 
are called creatures of men. The apostle Peter mentions a crea- 
ture of this sort, which he calls uvfyuvm xIktu, a creature of man, 
to which he commands Christians to be subject for the Lord's 
sake, or for the sake of the Lord. Magistrates are creatures of 
both God and man, when they fulfil the end of their institution; 
and, my Lords, it is damnable to disobey them in that case: but 
when they pervert their office and appointment, they are mere 
creatures of men, and not of God ; and then obedience to them 
is really problematical. All those characters and dignities which 
are not to be found in Scripture are creatures of men; among 
these I shall take notice of two of these sorts of creatures. And, 
I. A civil magistrate with religious jurisdiction is a mere 
creature of human policy, which has no existence in the divine 
law or in the gospel. The supreme magistrate has no more 
authority in determining what belongs to men's consciences 
than the Bishop of Rome: to give the magistrate such a power 
is really to make him a Pope. The matters of God and the king 
were kept separate among the Jews as long as they obeyed 
God's law; and under the gospel Jesus Christ has the sole 
authority in religion, to whom man is accountable, and to no 
power besides. There is not a paragraph in all the New Testa- 
ment which gives authority to civil rulers to interfere in religion, 
except in choosing their own ; and this right they have in com- 
mon with other subjects of the Lord Jesus Christ. They have 
a right by their office to take care that no man hurt another for 
the sake of his religion, and to see that no person give any dis- 
turbance to another for the sake of his creed ; but Divine reve- 
lation gives them no right to prescribe what shall be the faith 
of a nation, or the form of worship they shall practise in serving 
God. When any nation gives its approbation to a power which 
enforces religion by civil penalties, it then forms a creature dif- 
ferent from any thing that God has made. Civil authority is an 
ordinance and creature of God in all things that relate to the 
civil and political happiness of society, and every Christian is 
bound to obey it for conscience sake; but when it extends be- 
yond that bound, this question is presently suggested, " Whether 
is it lawful to obey God or man, judge ye. u 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



For the sake of being good Christians and good subjects, it is 
always necessary to know the difference between what is human 
and divine in all public institutions; for unless we perceive 
something divine in the apppointment, it will never so far reach 
the conscience as to make men observe it from the heart. This 
seems to have been the reason that princes, legislators, and poli- 
ticians, in all ages, have endeavoured to make mankind believe 
that they received their power and authority from some divine 
original. This was, in the first instance, an acknowledgment 
that all authority ought to be consistent with such principles of 
conscience as render men accountable to the Deity as well 
as to the magistrate for their behaviour as citizens, or mem- 
bers of the state. Numa Pompilius, before he introduced his 
laws among the Roman people, retired to consult the deity 
Egeria, and introduced them as the laws of a divinity. There 
have been few legislators so hardy as to venture to issue laws 
and systems of government upon their own authority. There 
is something in mankind that requires an higher authority than 
any thing merely human to procure submission and obedience ; 
for though fear of bodily punishment may have a strong influ- 
ence, there are many cases in which this fear is overcome. 
Anger, and a strong desire of revenge, will often overcome all 
the fears of bodily punishment, when the idea of futurity and an 
after reckoning in another life will restrain and check these pas- 
sions. And if we add a persuasion of being rewarded in the 
next world for suffering in this, it will make men suffer any tor- 
ture whatever, rather than yield obedience to the mandates of 
government and state which appear unreasonable and sinful. 
The far greater part of legislators have always pretended to a 
divine authority to rule mankind, and have at least made use 
of the credulity of the people to procure their obedience. In 
ancient times lawgivers kept the secrets of government, which 
they pretended to receive from Heaven, in their own hands, and 
only gave their report for a security to the people, which igno- 
rance and superstition received as satisfactory. But where men 
have divine revelation, these cheats will not pass; they are ready 
to examine that law book, and to compare the divine institution 
of government therein set forth with those forms that are pre- 
tended to be of divine authority. They thereby are able to 
dissinguish between those creatures of men and the ordinances 
of God which are binding upon the conscience. The power of 
princes and emperors to set up a priesthood with authority to 
direct the human conscience, is an old claim, but had never any 
foundation in reason or the will of God; for, as matters of con- 
science are between God and a man's self, no power whatsoever 
can lawfully interfere, while the person lives quietly, and does 
not disturb the government. Such a creature imposed upon 
society by regal authority as a Diocesan Bishop, to whom they 
must be subject in things religious, or lose some privileges which 

belong 



28 



SERMON IV. 



belong to all good citizens, is a grievous burden, not easy to be 
borne. While a person lives soberly, obeys the Laws of civil 
government, honours the king, and loves his country; is it not 
hard, that because he will not submit to a creature which God 
never made, he shall be refused the honour and privilege of 
serving his king and his country, according to that station 
and rank he holds in the community? Religious tests, to entitle 
men to be servants of a state, when their principles are known 
to be friendly to government, are creatures of men so unreason- 
able and oppressive, that it is strange that ever any government 
should have made them. To engraft religion upon civil govern- 
ment in any sense, is a creature of men and not of God ; for 
neither our Saviour nor any of his apostles have given the 
smallest hint concerning it, but the contrary. It is making the 
supreme magistrate a very extraordinary creature, first, to give 
him a power of creating a character which shall have dominion 
over his own conscience, and then have a right of administering 
divine ordinances to him. It is plain, that in this country the 
sovereign is the maker of all the clergy that are in it, and yet he 
himself is but a creature. Nothing is better known now, than 
that a man cannot be a Bishop till he is created by the king; till 
then he can neither ordain deacons or priests, nor perform the 
act of confirmation. All his after ministerial and episcopal 
functions have their original in that which gave him his first 
existence as a Bishop; whence it is manifest, that the orders of 
Priest and Deacon, which are iudefeasibly handed down by 
Bishops, have their first rise in the crown, and are not derived 
from the apostles, unless it can be proved that the sovereigns of 
England are the successors of the apostles. The Papists upon 
this head have much the better of the English Episcopalians in 
point of argument; for they do not sutler kings to make Bi- 
shops, but can make them without any civil authority, which 
the English church cannot do. The strange palliatives which 
are used to colour over this inconsistency are like the Prophet's 
untempered mortar, that was very unfit for the purpose it was 
designed for. This power granted, or supposed to be lodged in 
a sovereign, makes him a very extraordinary sort of a person — 
one that gives being and existence to a creature which after- 
wards becomes his counsellor, and, in a sense, the keeper of his 
conscience. But — 

II. A minister of the church with civil jurisdiction is not 
one of the creatures of God. Shew me, my Lords, any such 
creature in any one of the apostolic churches, as a minister of 
the gospel who was a civil magistrate. This is a strange amphi- 
bious sort of an animal ; it has the charge both of men's souls 
and bodies; can banish men out of the earth, and also shut the 
gates of heaven against them. Some of these are very mis- 
chievous creatures, had need to have little occasion to exercise 
their power, otherwise they would do it with a vengeance. It 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



29 



is perhaps a problem not easily solved, why no men are ever so 
tyrannical and oppressive as clergymen who have power. Whe- 
ther this proceeds from an abuse of the institution, or from the will 
of Providence suffering men to be wicked, who are unwilling to 
be subject to his laws, but assume offices and claim power he 
never intended to give them, I will not determine. But it is 
most natural to suppose, that none but wicked men will claim 
a power which Christ has given to no man. When they once 
assume such apocryphal offices, it is no wonder that they turn 
tyrants; for nothing but their manners or their natural tempers 
can render them tolerable. Conscience is out of the question; 
for had they consulted the proper rules of conscience, they never 
would have assumed power which the Lord has not authorized. 
There may happen here and there a clergyman with antichris- 
tian power, who does not exercise it in its full latitude; but 
this is a rare case, and proceeds more from some things that 
fall out in the chapter of accidents, than from the nature of the 
thing. If a man engage in an office which obliges him, if he 
fulfil it, to be an oppressor, he must upon the whole be either a 
very bad or a very inconsiderate man. I know there are some 
allowances to be- made for the education of mankind, and the 
manner in which they have been tutored; but even those allow- 
ances must not be carried too far: for the word of God, being 
very plain, will instruct any man that is qualified to be a minis- 
ter of the word, that he should assume no power except that 
which Christ hath given him; and it will never shew him, that 
a minister of the gospel can be a Lord Spiritual or a Justice 
of the Peace. The reason why clergymen abuse power, and are 
the greatest tyrants, is this — that they have no right to any, and 
as they claim an illicit authority, for want of good principles, 
Providence suffers them to expose their wickedness to all men. 
A good man, by engaging in an illicit business, may turn bad; 
and this is one of the ways that God punishes him for walk- 
ing upon forbidden ground, namely, that he suffers him to ex- 
pose his own folly. It is impossible for a man to be good 
while he is continually doing either what he has no authority, 
or what he is forbidden to do. Every man who seeks that 
power which does not belong to his character will abuse it, 
if he obtain it; for no good man will desire any such thing: 
and it will be as easy to make a man keep clean feet in 
mire, as make a good man keep a good conversation and a 
clear conscience in pursuing a duty which God has declared to 
be sinful. 

I shall conclude by observing that the gospel has left nothing 
short in matters of duty, more than in matters of privilege. 
All things needful to direct high or low, rich or poor, are con- 
tained in it. When it is preached to every human creature, it 
shews all the duties they owe to God and society. Your Lord- 
ships will therefore do well to search the word of God, and 

F there 



30 SERMON IV. 

there you will find all things necessary to make the man of God 
perfect — every thing necessary to make Ministers of State true 
Christians — every thing necessary to make you wise unto salva- 
tion, to make you live with pleasure, and die in peace; which 
may God grant it. Amen. 



SERMON V. 
James, iv. 1. 

From whence come wars and fighting among you? Come they 
not from your lusts f 

HHHIS is coming to the very point. The Apostle has said 
<*■ more in this one sentence concerning the causes of war, 
than is contained in many large volumes that have been pub- 
lished upon this bloody subject. The true cause and reason of 
ail wars and fightings are men's lusts, or when one party attacks 
another without any just provocation, or upon grounds and rea- 
sons that have no evidence, except in the opinion of the aggres- 
sor. The defence of the natural rights of mankind, their per- 
sons, liberty, religion, and property, is not war, but a lawful 
method of preserving what men are possessed of by either the 
law of nature or established statutes. Partizans will be ready to 
dispute concerning the reasonableness of waging war with others, 
and often maintain that the aggressor has sufficient reasons for 
his conduct and behaviour. But, provided they were out of 
the question, they would reason very differently. Mankind often 
deceive themselves by dressing up the object that opposes their 
lusts in fantastical or odious colours, and then determine against 
them according to the character they have given them. In this 
case they express their resentment according to the ugliness of 
the picture they have drawn, and not according to the real cha- 
racter of the object. When the passions bear rule, and lust 
prevails, reason and conscience are both duped and put to silence 
with the noise and bustle of jarring affections; and in such a case 
men are carried violently away by the force of passion and appetite 
combined against reason and conscience. It will always happen, 
when mankind consider the gratification of their lusts as their 
interest, that they will seek for arguments to vindicate their pur- 
suits after what they desire. Satan furnished our first parents 
with arguments for eating the forbidden fruit, and they found 
also an apology for their own transgression. Their consciences 

agreed 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



31 



agreed with neither the one nor the other. But what can con- 
science do when a strong passion has a favourite object in view ? 
men are soon checked from the commission of the sins they are 
not much inclined to. David started at the thought of killing 
Saul, and his heart smote him when he cut off his skirt; but he 
was not so nice and tender-hearted when a ruling appetite co- 
veted another man's wife: his conscience slept securely for near 
twelve months; nor do we hear that ever he was moved for his 
transgressions till the prophet charged it home to him in a spe- 
cial manner. The principles of right and wrong are very plain, 
and exceeding easily understood; and, setting men's lusts aside, 
there never would be any wars or fighting concerning them. If 
a robber violently take another man's property — if a thief steal 
his effects — if a foreign power unjustly invade an inoffensive 
nation, and carry away the substance of the inhabitants, or mur- 
der them — to attack them, defeat them, pursue them, and kill 
them, \s justice, and not war. There can be no dispute concern- 
ing the righteousness of this proceeding; for the case is self-evi- 
dent. The lust of power and ambition, and the lust of gain, 
may bias the understanding, when people argue in favour of 
themselves; but let them change sides, and apply their argu- 
ments to others, supposing them in their stead, and their rea- 
soning will take another line of direction. 

The style of the sacred oracles concerning war is very signi- 
ficant and expressive; the words that are made use of to ex- 
press the signification thereof are exceeding characteristic in 
both the Hebrew and Greek languages. The chief word which 
signifies war in the Old-Testament language is Milchama, which 
signifies literally an eating up, or devouring. This implies some 
sort of hunger or lust in the devourer, or in those who make war ; 
the cause is lust, the effect is eating up or devouring. This is a 
sort of painting in language, which our language will not admit 
of. You have in the Hebrew both the name and the significa- 
tion expressed in one word. The Greek is also very expressive: 
to\ £/ xoj signifies a shedding of blood, as well as wasting and de- 
stroying. This is the true character of war. This word in 
the New Testament is derived from the same root that the word 
Devil is derived from, and shews that all wars come from the 
Devil, and all professed warriors are the children of the wicked 
one, who abode not in the truth, but is professedly a waster and 
destroyer, — an invader of the rights of others. All who are for 
making war are wasters and destroyers, and have just as much, 
glory as the vermin that eat up the labour of the year. From 
these observations we may form a conjecture concerning the 
origin of standing armies: this practice proceeds from him who 
has been an enemy to peace from the beginning, and continually 
goes about seeking whom he may devour. Making of war al- 
ways implies injustice in its nature; — defence of men's natural 
rights is not destroying, but preserving that which it is every 



32 



SERMON V. 



one's duty to preserve. The defending of such rights, or claim- 
ing them when they are ascertained by palpable evidence, which 
is manifest to all unprejudiced persons, is not making of war, 
nor comes under the signification of wasting and destroying; it 
is only a lawful defence of those rights and privileges which 
the Almighty has bestowed upon all men. To make war 
for the sake of dominion is as unjust as to rob for the sake of 
being rich; both proceed from the same principle — the lust that 
is in our members. No principles of human policy can be just 
reason of making war, unless they are founded in divine truth, 
established in laws of nature, and self-evident maxims of mora- 
lity. These are things easily understood, and will be easily per^ 
ceived by all men, when lust does not pervert their understand- 
ing. But here is the rub; the lust of men's hearts throws a 
mist upon their understanding, and makes objects appear dik 
ferent from what they really are. Truth would appear the same 
to all men, provided their corrupt affections did not misrepresent 
it. The very sun, when shining through a mist, appears to be 
otherwise than it really is. False mediums of argument are 
raised by men's lusts, which disguise both the premises and 
middle term, and produce false and unjust conclusions. My 
Lords, I shall produce the testimony of as great a man as any of 
you to ascertain this point. It is no reproach, my Lords, to 
rank Julius Caesar among great men. In his address to the 
Senate, though he was pleading a bad cause, yet he said what is 
universally true : " Those who advise concerning doubtful matters 
ought to be free from hatred, friendship, anger, and mercy; the 
mind does not easily perceive truth, when these stand in the way ; 
nor did ever any man obey his lust and true advanaage at the 
same time. When the judgment is fully exercised, it prevails; 
if lust has the possession, it domineers, the mind is altoge- 
ther rendered feeble."* Caesar knew all this from experience; 
and had he pursued his own doctrine, he would have been a 
good as well as a great man. But the testimony of such a person 
as Julius Caesar may be of service in confirming what has just 
been observed. 

It is indeed no uncommon thing to hear some politicians 
affirm, that the common people are not competent judges of 
state matters, and maxims of human policy with regard to war. 
But if there are any principles of state that plain men cannot 
understand, they are far too deep to be practised, and must have 
their foundation laid more upon the lusts of corrupt minds 
than upon the principles of reason and science. Such as can- 
not understand that as they would men should do to them, so 

* Omnes homines, Patres conscripti, qui de rebus dubiis consultant, ab odio, 
amicitia, ira, atque mi'-ericordia, vacuos esse debet. Haud facile animus verum 
providet, ubi ilia obficiunt; neque quisquam omnium lubidini simul et usui 
paruit. Ubi intenderis ingenium, valet: si lubido possidet, ea dominatur 
animus nihil valet. Sallust. Catilin. cap. 49. 

ought 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



3* 



ought they to do to others, are to be comprehended within the 
rank of idiots, of which I hope, at an average, the number is very 
small. The above maxim is very plain, good, and equitable, 
and would serve to direct every part of human conduct, pro- 
vided lust did not prevail against judgment and reason 

It is a rule which almost all men can perceive, at first view, 
and which no man can reasonably controvert, that every person 
ought to be acquainted with those things wherein his own inte- 
rest is concerned. And though he may, by an act of his own 
will, entrust others with the management of his affairs, yet it 
cannot be supposed that he must not concern himself with their 
management, nor find fault with their conduct, when they act 
palpably wrong. There is as much common sense yet remain** 
ing in the world as will enable every man to perceive what is 
right and wrong in every thing that belongs to the welfare of 
society; and if it were possible to bring their lusts under sub- 
jection to common sense, they would seldom err in their judg- 
ment concerning what belongs to the community. Wherever 
there are the greatest number of lusts prevailing, there will 
always be the greatest number of errors. When reasons of state 
policy with regard to war are pretended to be mysteries, or are 
made such, they will have the same effect as multiplying mys- 
teries in religion always increases the number of infidels. It 
must always be considered as unfair dealing towards the public, 
to force them into a war, when they cannot perceive that the 
reasons for it are both plain and equitable. But to tell them 
they are not competent judges, nor ought to give their opinion 
concerning these mysteries, must be the highest insult to their 
understanding. Must men risk their lives and fortunes, and 
their future felicity into the bargain, by engaging in a cause 
they do not understand, or perhaps have great suspicion of its 
utility? Can any mandates of state, any law of a nation, any 
command of a sovereign, clear a man's conscience for doing 
what he is persuaded is wrong upon the most manifest proof 
and evidence? Must the whole community, to gratify the lusts 
of a few ambitious men, rush headlong upon death and destruc- 
tion, for no other reason than an arbitrary commandment? 
Must not men possessed of souls, of reason, and conscience, in- 
quire whether they are going to venture their lives for a just or 
an unjust cause, — for the welfare of their country, or to gratify 
the lusts of men who pay no regard either to God or man, farther 
than they can serve their own interest, pride, or ambition? This 
is supposing the community to be no better than stocks or stones, 
or at least like cattle, who must die at the command of their 
master. 

If the princes and powers of this world would enter as heartily 
into an alliance to subdue their own lusts, aud those of their 
subjects, as they enter into confederacies to carry on w?r and 
desolation, I should venture to pronounce that there would 

soon 



34 



SERMON V. 



soon be few wars in this habitable globe. Do not stare, ye 
statesmen and politicians! this is not impossible to be done, 
provided you would set an example, and try the experiment. 
If there be any impossibility, it must arise from your being in 
love with your lusts, and because you have made a covenant 
with sin and death. But will this excuse you, when you will 
be upon a level with the meanest subjects, and be made to give 
an account of all your actions before an omnipotent Judge? 
There have been as great changes in the manners of the world 
since the coming of our Saviour, as there would be if all war 
was laid aside. The inhabitants of this island once wor- 
shipped stocks and stones, went naked in the woods, lived con- 
tinually upon plunder, and fed upon raw flesh, and painted 
their bodies in an horrible manner. In the progress of time 
they became civilized, embraced Christianity, and were gradu- 
ally more polished in their manners by society. The difference 
is now so great, that they are not the same people. It is but 
going a step farther, and even war would cease. Mortify lust, 
and there will be no war. It is something strange that Chris- 
tianity has not taught men better manners. It has done it : but 
all who profess that religion are not true Christians ; they listen 
to the calls of lust and appetite, give way to their passions, and 
forget the laws of Christianity. If such a reformation as laying 
aside all war be impossible, it is then impossible that men can 
do any good at all; for the same lusts that produce wars and 
fighting occasion all other crimes; and consequently there is not 
the least hope of salvation upon this score. For those who do 
not profess Christianity this doctrine is not intended; if Chris- 
tians would but consider this subject soberly, they would soon 
perceive that there can be no war among them, without their 
first becoming the slaves of the devil and their own lusts. The 
Apostle has finally determined this point in the words of the 
text — " From whence come wars! Come they not from your 
lusts? 1 ' But I shall consider this subject more particularly, by 
shewing what those lusts are that are the cause of war; — then 
point out the best method of subduing them. 

I. There is the lust of the flesh, an inordinate desire of car- 
nal gratification. I wish I may be able to touch this part of my 
subject with as much delicacy as the modesty of my audience 
requires, for it must be allowed that there are many strange and 
indelicate things implied in the lust of the flesh. By the word 
which our translators render lust the Greeks used to signify any 
pleasure pertaining either to body or mind ; and it is here used 
to signify all pleasures that are inconsistent with right reason 
and conscience. When it is applied to bodily gratification, it is 
called lust; but when it relates to the mind, it is called pleasure. 
But as mankind are at present more addicted to lust than real 
mental pleasure, they have given carnal gratification the name of 
pleasure; hence the vilest of the human species are called men 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



S3 



of pleasure and women of pleasure. And thus they have ranked 
themselves with the meanest and vilest of creatures in their con- 
ceptions of pleasure. We need only consult the history of man- 
kind and of the world to inform us, that the lust of the flesh has 
been the occasion of war. In the days of the judges of Israel 
this abominable lust almost extirpated a whole tribe of the 
family of Jacob. The sinners of Benjamin, stimulated with lust, 
not only ravished and killed the Levite's concubine, but, from 
a fellow-feeling for their offending brethren, ventured their lives 
to defend the most abominable action. The lust of the flesh 
certainly renders men mad. How could Benjamin have the face 
to vindicate such an action?— a deed declared capital by the law 
of God, and for which his heavy judgments have been poured 
down upon all nations that have been guilty of such crimes. 
Gracious Heaven! to see the .people gathering out of all the 
cities of Benjamin to Gibeah, with swords, slings, and spears, to 
defend an abominable filthy city, almost as wicked as Sodom— 
to support the cause of adulterers, ravishers, and catamites. A 
strange sight! What arguments could they produce for their 
conduct and behaviour? Arguments! lust has no arguments, 
except desire. What arguments, my Lords, have those great 
peers and noblemen for defiling the beds of their brethren, and 
seducing their wives from their vows and fidelity? What? — Ask 
the vilest of all animals, and, if they could speak, they would 
tell you-— lust. In this war sixty. five thousand men were slain, 
besides all the people of Benjamin except seven hundred— a 
dear price paid for gratifying the lusts of a few. What a sad 
spectacle! to behold all the cities of Benjamin in ashes, and 
not a man nor beast left alive, except seven hundred, in the 
whole tribe, which fled for their lives to the rock Rimmon. 
But you will perhaps say, the Benjamites were a brave people, 
fine soldiers, and fought a good battle. Cowards and madmen 
will do the same upon the like occasions; but there is no true 
bravery in defending sin. Is it brave to run headlong into end- 
less misery? It would be more brave, and be attended with 
more true glory, for men to conquer their lusts and subdue their 
appetites. This would be attended with great advantages, both 
in this life and that which is to come. 

Many stories in profane history inform us of strange wars that 
have proceeded from the lust of the flesh. The Trojan war, 
which took its rise from a lascivious young woman making an 
elopement from her husband with a Trojan shepherd, though 
many things in the history may be fabulous, shews that wars 
have proceeded from the lust of the flesh. Even the chiefs of 
Greece, when pursuing the adulterer with war, fell out among 
themselves concerning the captive girls they had taken, and the 
lust of Agamemnon brought the pestilence upon the whole 
army, which carried off dogs, mules, and men, for the space of 
nine days. The same cause stirred up the wrath of Achilles, 



so 



SERMON V. 



and made him withdraw his troops, and desert his friends. What 
a ridiculous figure do the two heroes Agamemnon and Achilles 
make, when they scold each other for a captive girl ? And what 
adds to the absurdity, Agamemnon had a wife of his own. 
Homer has painted their characters in the strongest colours, 
without intending to reproach them, though if he had intended 
to censure them severely, he could not have done it better. 
Achilles first scolds like a fury, and then sits down and weeps 
like a child, while the adulterer carries away Briseis, as if the 
Trojans had been all asleep, and the war had been ended. 
Where lust rules, men are really out of their senses.* For the 
sake of a little temporary gratification, what hazards will they 
not encounter? What stratagems will they not devise? What 
crimes will they not commit? The chilling rheums of midnight 
damps — the unpurged air, pregnant with the sickly vapours of 
the night. — the dread of daggers*— nor the fear of detection, can 
restrain the lascivious person from pursuing gratification. For 
a draught of stolen waters, for a morsel in secret, the libidinous 
filthy creature will venture his own life, or shed the blood of 
his friend. The blood of nations has been made to run like 
water for the guilty pleasure of one man — for the momentary 
enjoyment of a feeling which leaves a bitter sting behind, it. 

The lust of the flesh has been the occasion of many cruel 
wars. Even with heaven will men make war, for the sake of 
corrupt and guilty pleasure. The ancient cities of Sodom and 
Gomorrah are lasting monuments of the effects of inordinate 
lusts. The wicked inhabitants of those cities were so obstinate 
in pursuing sensual delights, and so inordinate in their volup- 
tuous desires, that they fatigued Nature herself with enjoyment, 
and were obliged to invent new gratifications contrary to all 
natural laws. Perhaps it may be imagined that this extrava- 
gant profligacy proceeded from the barbarity of the times, and 
from the want of politeness, which fine education and genteel 
tutorage produce in civilized nations. This does not appear, my 
Lords, to have been the case. It is as probable that this wick- 
edness proceeded from refinement, as that it flowed from bar- 
barity; for though this abandoned and filthy people were made 
examples for all wicked nations to take warning from, yet they 
are not the only people in the world that have been charged 
with unnatural abominations. The Jews in the days of Solomon, 
and the Romans in the midst of their highest pretensions to re- 
finement and politeness, greedily pursued these abominable 
practices that were pursued in Sodom. And in some Christian 
countries, where manners are carried to the highest pitch of 
refinement, the sins of Sodom are not uncommon. When men 
are so far gone in lust as to war against nature, it is not to be 

wondered 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



37 



wondered at that they should fight and war with one another. 
The indulging of animal pleasures renders the mind callous to 
true virtue and religion, and to every principle of humanity and 
goodness. Appetite grows stronger by gratification, and, by 
repeated indulgence, may be carried the length of outrage,— 
even so far that a man will be ready to part with the best things 
he is possessed of to fulfil his lusts. Under the dominion and 
influence of carnal appetites, men will give up their religion, 
betray their friends, sell their country, and make war upon both 
God and man. What is the reason that often the wealth of na- 
tions is wasted by a few, and yet that few are never satisfied; 
that the more they get, their desires are the stronger; but that 
lust is insatiable, and desire has no bounds. 

But there are many instances that shew the direful effects of 
fleshly lusts. Mark Antony Tost the dominion of the world for 
a sensual gratification, and his life into the bargain. One Cleo- 
patra is sufficient to waste a world ; but what is to be expected, 
my Lords, when every Antony has his Cleopatra. Every senator 

keeps — keeps — ah, I must say it, my Lords— keeps a m ^ss. 

Peaceable times are not to be expected when this practice pre- 
vails. When a man has spent his fortune upon his lusts, he is 
obliged, through necessity, to go and fight for more. This is the 
reason that so many of the armies in Europe are composed of 
dissolute and rapacious officers, who can never have enough, and 
why so many are fond of war. They expect preferment, or per- 
haps plunder, to retrieve their wasted fortunes, or to obtain a 
subsistence. Were men temperate, sober, and chaste, they 
would seldom want as much as nature requires, nor need to 
fight for the necessaries of life. Their lusts prompt them first to 
spend their livelihood ; and when they can neither fulfil their lusts, 
nor support nature, they are ready to fight for what will merely 
support their existence. There are 5 perhaps, among all human 
appetites, none more violent that that of concupiscence ; it is the 
very thirst of lascivious persons which makes them, when they 
cannot have their desires fulfilled, like the rich man in the 
parable, rage with pain and excruciating tortures. They fight 
first with themselves, and are tortured with jealousies, surmises, 
and suspicions; and when they once catch hold of the idea of a 
rival, war and destruction engross all their thoughts. Nothing 
except revenge and death occupy their meditations; their days 
are wearisome, and their nights restless : sleep flees from their 
eyes, and contentment from their minds. This domestic war 
breaks out into open hostility with all the world; and ihe agi- 
tated sinner, weary of existence through the pains of jealousy, 
which lust creates and increases, seeks relief in combat, and 
dictates a challenge; — and sends it— to one as innocent as the 
child unborn, whose only fault is to be preferred to one who de- 
serves nothing except shame and contempt. This is really, my 
Lords, as unjust as to make war upon a whole people because 

G they 



58 



SERMON V. 



they will not surrender their properties to support other men's 
pleasures. 

When officers of slate, and the servants of sovereigns, have a 
share in the legislature, if they are under the government of 
lust, they will make their offices, their power, and even the laws, 
subservient to their inordinate desires. By their voices in the 
senate, they will promote statutes that establish iniquity by a 
law, and proceed so far as to make modern acts of legislature 
contradict the ancient, fundamental constitution of a nation. In 
this case it need not be thought strange, that laws should be 
made ex post facto to serve the purpose of lascivious and rapa- 
cious sycophants; laws that make an adherence to fundamental 
statutes, rebellion, and an attachment to legal liberty high 
treason. It requires no more than to say Yes or No to effect all 
this; and who that is a slave to impure pleasures will refuse 
their assent at the call of their lusts? A people declared re- 
bels must be subdued ; of consequence armies must be levied, 
fleets equipped, officers appointed, and pensions liberally be- 
stowed In conclusion, if success attend the enterprise, the 
estates of the rebels must be confiscated. And who shall have 
the possession of them ? who but the dutiful creatures who gave 
consent to make them so, or their very dear friends? In conse- 
quence of this, ministerial fortunes will be acquired, and the 
faithful friends of lust and concupiscence will be able to keep not 
only a single female, but to support a seraglio like his Ottoman 
Majesty. Then will every subaltern, who was only able to taste 
the pleasures of sin occasionally, as his finances would permit,: 
riot in the paradise of Mahomet, and enjoy the fruits of his toil 
with his seraglio of fallen angels. Who would not determine 
all the world rebels, and guilty of high treason, for a place in 
such an elysium? Such is indeed the language of cruel lust and 
unbounded desire. But we, my Lords, live in better times, in 
a better country, where virtue, meekness, modesty, fear of sin 
and of God, we hope, will preserve us from this horrid and 
wicked appetite. " Whence come tears? come they not from 
your lusts ? y * 

I should proceed to another particular, but shall now con- 
clude by observing, that we would willingly hope the influence 
of the Christian religion will prevent such great evils and lust 
from prevailing in Great Britain; or, if they abound at present, 
that in due time it will purge them away, and render all cha- 
racters such as they ought to be. Soon may this happen to all 
degrees of people. Amen. 



SERMON 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 59 



SERMON VI. 
James, iv. 1. 

Whence come wars and fightings? — Come they not from your 

lusts $ 

T INTEND, my Lords, to make this Discourse very short, and 
shali proceed to pursue the subject proposed in the last 
Sermon, according to the plan there laid down. 

II. The lust of covetousness, and unsalable desire of riches 
and wealth, is the cause of war. This vile affection has been 
the cause of much strife in this world ; many thousands have 
been slain through the influence of this depraved passion. The 
domestic peace of families, and the tranquillity of nations, can- 
not continue where this daemon resides. Where men are ad- 
dicted to covetousness, they will pursue all methods whatever 
in order to gratify their lust of gain. This passion is an entire 
enemy to mercy ; for it disposes people always to take, but never 
to give, except for some advantage; and where there is the 
hope of gain, a covetous man will consent to any act of cruelty 
whatsoever. 

- The lust of covetousness excludes all ideas of right, except 
when fear and penalties enforce the impressions thereof, and then 
it is rather a painful sensation, which they endeavour to be freed 
from as soon as possible, than any desirable feeling. If a co- 
vetous man is a prince, he will never pardon an offence, when 
punishment brings profit to the crown; nor will he fear to 
expose the lives of his subjects, provided lie hopes to increase 
his revenue. With regard to his enemies, they can expect no 
favour as long as their lives stand in the way of his gain. 
If they receive any quarter, it will only be to make them- 
selves. If a covetous man is a minister or a royal counsel- 
lor, he wiil advise such measures as tend most to promote 
his own interest, or to increase the revenues that pass 
through his fingers, the application of which will be such as 
may best serve himself, or the friends that serve him. If a 
senator, his vote will be venal ; and the highest price will always 
purchase his assent. Covetousness makes the clergy rnail reli- 
gion for money, and the love of gain will make them zealous for 
any cause where the profits are visible: for this reason they 
generally take part with men in power, and draw near where 
they know there are loaves and fishes. They will <ry for blood 
and slaughter at the call of power, and echo damnation against 
all those whom government have appointed to destruction. The 

proceedings 



40 



SERMON VI. 



proceedings of the clergy in the reigns of Henry VIII. Mary, 
and Elizabeth, James I. and all the Stewarts, afford palpable 
proofs of this observation. The Star-Chamber and High-Corn* 
mission Courts were sanhedrims of blood, composed chiefly of 
religious ministers, — inquisitions where some of the clergy were 
inquisitors-general. Nothing except the coveting of worldly 
interest, and worldly ease, would determine men who had the 
benefit or the Christian religion, either to stir up the civil 
powers, or to join with them in persecuting inoffensive people 
for professing what their consciences dictated to them from the 
word of God as a rule ot their faith and duty. 

There is no vice more hurtful to society than covetousness; 
it produces wars that will last as long as any objects stand in the 
way ot that voracious appetite. Aristotle has described the 
war which covetousness occasions very elegantly in his story of 
the eight robbers, who contended with one another for the 
plunder they had taken till they were all killed except one. 
Every covetous man would have all, if he could obtain it. Nor- 
thing less will satisfy a covetous person, than the whole of what 
his \mt requires. No means are so unjust, no practices so unrea- 
sonable, but an avaricious person will pursue, to^ obtain the ends 
of covetousness. 

Covetousness is a real disease of the mind, an inordinate desire 
of wealth or riches. The poet justly calls it amor scekratus 
habendiy a kicked desire of having ;-~-when the bent of the affec- 
tions is perpetually inclined towards objects of private interest, 
and the whole pleasure of the soul consists in having the enjoy* 
merit of worldly riches. This vile passion will make persons in 
high life employ their power to oppress their inferiors, and seek 
to wrest trom them their natural rights, to gratify the wicked 
desire of having what their hearts covet. There is an instance 
of this in the case of Ahab king of Israel, when he coveted 
Naboth's vineyard. The laws of Israel forbade any Israelite to 
sell the inheritance of his fathers, unless he was reduced to 
poverty, and in that case he could only dispose of it till the year 
of jubilee. But Ahab wanted N a both to alienate his vineyard 
to him, to be turned into a kitchen garden. This brave Israelite 
refused to sell the inheritance of his fathers, and gave the king a 
flat denial. But the cruel lust of covetousness raised such a 
warfare in the mind of this wicked king that he never ceased till 
hoth the honest man's life and his possessions were taken away. 
What strange schemes does this lust devise ? Jezebel knew what 
her husbau<< covetei, and soon devised a scheme to have posses* 
sion of Naboth's vineyard. She had better never tasted grapes, 
nor changed a vineyard into a kitchen garden; they proved 
sour grapes to their Israelitish Majesties. But it signifies no- 
thing to reason either with man or woman, when their lusts 
have an object in view; for they will pursue their inclination, 
if they are not restrained, though ruin should be the consequence 

thereof? 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



41 



thereof. The first man and woman lost Paradise, and ruined the 
world, through lust, — and for the lust of fruit too, or what was 
worse, a lust of knowing more than was meet: covetousness is 
the same with lust, they are words of the same import. But to 
return to the story of Ahab and his queen — The wicked Jezebel 
murdered an honest righteous man for the sake of his vineyard ; 
true is the old proverb, that kings have long hands, and will 
not easily be said nay, when their lusts are strong. It is a sad 
case when dominion and lust are in partnership, for they are 
always ready to turn the balance in their own favour, and justice 
and righteousness are made to kick the beam. Naboth is accused 
of cursing God and the King: we do not hear in the history 
that this man was any way addicted to cursing. But the accu- 
sation was made good by witnesses suborned for that purpose. 
Covetousness will not stick at expedients; the same lust that 
brings a false accusation will devise means to make it good. 
The poor man lost his life very unjustly. Ah! what stratagems 
does not lust devise for the sake of gratification ? One of these 
accusations was sufficient to have taken away the life of Naboth ; 
but the king could not have had his vineyard, unless he had 
been proved a rebel and a traitor. Blasphemy was a capital 
crime by the divine law; but though the criminal suffered, his 
estate went to his heirs. But in case of cursing the king, the 
estate was forfeited, and annexed to the crown. Jezebel knew 
this, and coloured her proceeding against Naboth with the pre- 
tence ol blasphemy. It would by no means appear strange for 
a man to speak treason against the government, when he was so 
far gone in wickedness, as to blaspheme the name of Jehovah. 
The proving of the first would give credit to the latter, though 
the last was the main point in view. Did Ahab and Jezebel, and 
their court, care how much the name of the Lord was blas- 
phemed ? They blasphemed it every day themselves. Is it to 
be supposed that a court that worshipped Baal, my Lords, 
would be so very z- alous for the honour of the God of Israel as 
to put the laws in execution against blasphemy? It is very im- 
probable. But Ministers of State have often strange pretences, 
you know. It is not many years since a zeal of this sort, and 
which proceeded from mudi the same cause, made a violent 
exertion against blasphemy in a country well known to your 
Lordships. The culprit was not stoned to death, but was pu- 
nished full as far as the laws would permit. Were his accusers 
in their hearts such enemies to blasphemy, that they could not 
even endure the smell of it when it was even und< ?j locks and 
keys? The case was much the same with this of Naboth, who 
was so insolent as to give his sovereign a saucy answer, and 
would not part wit ) his birth-right. Blasphemy was only a 
sham to colour over the rest of the proceedings. 

Covetousness is real idolatry; for under the influence of this 
lust the world and the things thereof occupy those desires and 

affections 



42 



SERMON VI. 



affections which ought to be employed in the service of its 
great Creator and Redeemer. A covetous man cannot be truly 
religious, nor in any respect a good member of society; for his 
unbounded desires are never satisfied, as long as he sees others 
possessed of what he covets and has not. Besides, the laws of 
society require, that every man, according as he is able, should 
afford necessary aid and relief to those in want and distress; 
but a covetous man receives nothing with a design to part with 
it again, provided he can hold it without danger to himself 
or the rest of his possessions. With regard to religion, he does 
not judge himself concerned with its interests; for as the Lord 
is not his God, he pays no regard to his authority. He worships 
Mammon, and pays all his devotion to the world. 

The lust of having power has been the'occasion of many wars 
and much bloodshed. Dominion over others creates an agree- 
able feeling in corrupt minds. To be at the head of affairs, and 
to have a multitude of humble servants, flatters human pride and 
vanity. There is a species of mankind, my Lords, who imagine 
that others were made for them, to whose lives and properties 
they have as good a right as they have to their goods and chat- 
tels. If mankind happen to understand their own rights and 
privileges, and refuse unreasonable submission, those who have 
dominion over them consider this as an insult to their authority; 
and if they will not acknowledge their power, they levy war 
against them as rebels. It is well known that arbitrary men 
have often no other reason for making war upon others, but 
merely for the sake of dominion; for every other valuable end 
and purpose might be answered without violence. Even law- 
suits proceed often upon this base principle, namely, the love of 
power; when, for the sake of obtaining a few yards of disput- 
able soil, men will waste a whole estate, for the foolish desire 
of having the better of others. How many provinces have been 
laid waste? how many towns destroyed? how many cities have 
been razed to the foundations ? For what? For no other rea- 
sons than because they would not submit to unreasonable autho- 
rity, and acknowledge a power that had no right to rule over 
them. Alexander had no more right to wage war with the states 
of Greece, than Greece has now to make war with the states of 
Holland; but, through a lust of power for dominion, he slaugh- 
tered innocent people because they would not call him Master 
and Lord of what he had no right to possess. The same thing 
may be said of the Romans, who, for the sake of dominion, 
crossed the seas, and invaded peaceable nations, which gave 
them no kind of offence, nor ever heard of the name of Romans 
till they came in person to inform them. These overbearing 
tyrants came even to Britain, and slew all that would not take 
on their yoke. What was the cause of all this war and ravaging 
of peaceful nations? truly, nothing except the lust of power, 
and of having dominion. And pray, my Lords, what is it that 

has 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



43 



lias carried the arms of Great Britain to the continent of Ame- 
rica ? Be so kind as to inform the ignorant ; for you can tell the 
cause and reason of sending such huge hosts of men to that 
part of the world. Some say it is the lust of power that is the 
reason thereof; for all useful ends might have been fulfilled 
without once drawing tbe sword. Was it not the lust of power 
that stimulated the government of this country to send such 
ftfoiaments to America, to let the colonists understand that the 
British legislature will have absolute dominion over all the em- 
pire, even contrary to nature and the spirit of law? Nothing 
but tiie lust of power united with the lusts I have already men- 
tioned could have determined some persons to proceed as they 
have done; for all the ends that were valuable and worthy of 
the nation might have been gained without bloodshed. Per- 
haps the Colonists had an aversion to the power of Bishops, or 
the management of some Ministers of State. And where was. 
the harm of that? Many at home think they have too much 
power; hut is that a good reason for the reverend bench to give 
sanction to the shedding of blood? or for ministers to seek re- 
venge, because, they cannot have as much submission as they 
would desire? Ah! vile lust rules under lawn as well as pur- 
ple; religious men will become dupes to statesmen for the 
sake of a share in dominion. What wars will not the lust of 
power, or pride, which is much the same thing, make men en- 
gage in against their fellow-men and subjects? It made King 
Charles I. wage war with his subjects, till he provoked them to 
resistance; and what was the consequence? I need not mention 
it ; your Lordships know it well. 

There is nothing more vain than the desire of having power, 
and yet nothing more common. Almost every one would have 
it if they could obtain it; it is an object even among beggars. 
But how vain is it! it cannot be long held; the greatest poten- 
tate must yield it up at death. How finely does dominion sit 
upon royal ashes, and the rotting fabrics of Ministers of State ? 
A beggar and a king have equal authority in the grave. Lewis 
XIV. Cardinal Mazarine, the Duke of Marlborough, and Count 
Talard, have just as little power now as the meanest subjects or 
the lowest soldiers. Their dust is now equally powerful. 
Would those who are so fond of making war for the sake of 
power only consider how greedily the worms in a short time 
will riot in their carcasses, and have dominion over them ; it 
would help to cool their lust of power, and damp their desire for 
dominion. 

This vile passion makes men disregard all laws, natural or 
revealed ; it pays no regard to reason, nor will it listen to the 
dictates of conscience. The son of Solomon is an instance of 
this. His subjects petitioned him most humbly for a redress 
of grievances; but his lust for power and absolute dominion 
blinded his eyes, and would not suffer him to listen to their 

reasonable 



44 



SERMON VL 



reasonable requests. He would be a greater oppressor than bis 
father, and would shew that his dominion was greater; and, my 
Lords, this new king was surrounded with ministers, that gave 
both foolish and dangerous advice. His new ministry prompted 
his pride, and made him despise the humble petitions of his 
dutiful subjects. Truly, my Lords, they had much to answer 
for: they were the instruments of losing, not thirteen tribes, but 
there were ten lost for ever to the family of David. And had 
not the Almighty over-ruled this headstrong prince, he would 
have run the risk of losing all his dominions; for he was pre- 
paring to reduce his revolted subjects to obedience by waging 
war against them. He had his army ready, and his troops in 
order, to vindicate his claim of dominion; but the Lord forbade 
and restrained him. Thus, you see, that in seeking dominion he 
lost what he had; as all men ought to do, when their ambition 
grows exorbitant. 

There is a memorable instance of the lust of power in the civil 
war between Caesar and Pompey; the one could not endure an 
equal, and the other could not suffer a superior; so to gratify 
the lust of those ambitious men, two cut-throats, legions of 
Romans were slain, and the blood of the noblest citizens made 
to run like water. 

The lust of power will not suffer men to flee from its influ- 
ence ; if a person happens to be born within its reach, it will 
never lose sight of him. He will not be permitted, when he is 
oppressed, to leave his country, and choose another. If he 
flee to the wilderness, it will pursue him, and in the midst of 
thickets it will find him out. It is a strange idea, my Lords, 
that because a man is born in a nation, which is not his own 
doing, he must always belong to it, let him be ever so ill used 
by the arbitrary domination of unreasonable men. And if he 
should happen to travel a thousand leagues, and find a country 
that belongs to nobody, the power he was under will claim it, 
on account of his being there, as soon as they hear where he is. 
And shall he insist upon the rights of nature, and refuse to give 
away his property to the power that asked it, however unrea- 
sonable the demand may be, he will soon find himself sur- 
rounded with fleets, and invaded with legions, which will make 
no scruple to take away his life, because he is declared to be 
a rebel by men who are actuated by the lust of dominion. Do 
you not think, my Lords, that this is very unreasonable, cruel, 
and wicked. This is certainly contrary to all the ideas of 
reason and religion that nature and the word of God teach us. 
Has not the apostle James fairly investigated the true cause of 
all wars? all the politicians in the world cannot give a more true 
and just one. I hope, my Lords, you will agree with him, and 
bate it as much as he did : but, whether you do or not, I must 
conclude. I should have proceeded to the last point, but this 
I defer. 

SERMON 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



SERMON VII. 
Esther, iii. 2. 

And all the king's servants bowed to Raman ; but Mordecai bowed 
not, nor did him reverence. 

TLTE had well nigh suffered for his obstinacy. Such men as 
Haman will not easily put up with an affront; a small 
matter in such a case as this is often construed to have a very 
deep meaning. Many things would be said on this occasion by 
the friends of Haman. They would be ready to tell, over all 
Shusan, that this Mordecai was one of the king's enemies, be- 
cause he did not bow to the nod of his prime-minister; that he 
was of a people that were different from all other nations, and 
could not endure monarchy, nor were willing to be subject to 
kings ; that he and his people were a race of Puritans, inclined 
to republican principles, and would, if they had power, sap the 
foundation of the empire; that they were hypocrites, and 
made use of religion, and that apparent strictness of conduct 
which they pursued, only to cover over rebellious and insidious 
designs. You know, my Lords, that in courts many things are 
said, to serve the ends of politicians, that are very far from having 
any foundation in truth. Nor is this ever accounted any re- 
proach to men of rank, or persons in high life. 

But where could the ground of offence lie in Mordecai's not 
bowing to Haman? It was contrary to those ideas of religion 
which Mordecai had learned from his ancestors, or rather from 
the God of Israel, to pay such an homage to a sinful and mortal 
creature; arid the want of it could do Haman no ill. Accord- 
ing to the Hebrew original, the word used here signifies the 
highest degree of worship and subjection, and what the Jews 
paid to God alone, and to no human creature. It was unrea- 
sonable in Haman to expect such an homage to be paid to him 
from a man who worshipped the true God. But what has pride 
and ambition to do with reason and religion? A proud man 
knows nothing of either of them ; all that he considers is to 
make every man bend to his will, and bow at his nod. 

It was easy for Haman to impute Mordecai's behaviour to 
obstinacy or enmity to the government of the country. You 
know, my Lords, that Bishop Laud, and the ministry in that 
time, accounted it obstinacy in the Puritans, because they would 
not bow to the altar with their faces towards the east, and fulfil 
some other pieces of pageantry then in fashion ; they played se- 
veral of Haman's tricks, and ended much in the same manner 

H that 



46 



SERMON VII. 



that he did. The ministry and the clergy in the reigns of 
Charles II. and James II. put many thousands to death, because 
they would not bow to the image of tyranny which had been set 
up. But what was the consequence ? the blood of these martyrs 
at last brought Heaven's vengeance upon the throne, and those 
that supported it, and made them turn vagabonds upon the 
earth. 

But let us pursue Haman a little in his progress, and see how 
he behaved and finished his career. This minister was an Ama- 
lekite, a nation in nowise friendly to the children of Israel; 
for when the seed of Jacob came out of the house of bondage, 
Amalek was the first that attacked them, when they were in the 
wilderness, and very unable to defend themselves. It must also 
be remembered that Amalek was descended of Esau, for he was 
the son of Eliphaz, the eldest son of Esau by Timna his con- 
cubine. It is thought that the family of Esau never forgot the 
old story concerning the loss of the birth-right, and for that 
reason took every oppoitunity to distress Israel either by fraud 
or violence: it was a malicious disposition to remember an 
offence so long; and it would appear that the Almighty suffered 
the Amalekites to be destroyed in the days of Saul, on account 
of their malice and wickedness. They were now no more a 
nation, though many of them were scattered, as the Jews are at 
present, up and down all the earth ; but they still retained their 
old enmity. Agag was the king of the Amalekites; so Haman 
was a descendant, or some relation, of the ancient royal family, 
who had wormed himself into the court of the King of Persia, 
and, retaining the arbitrary principles of his ancestor's house, 
wanted to practise them in the Persian empire. He does not 
appear to have been long in office before he discovered his 
principles; his pride and ambition soon began to discover them- 
selves in what one would be ready to call a very trifling cir- 
cumstance, which a person of any sagacity would not have 
thought worth his while to have taken the least notice of. Be- 
cause a poor captive Jew would not bow the knee, or prostrate 
himself before him, he could not enjoy all the favours which the 
king of Persia had conferred upon him. This was the only 
thing that picqued his pride, and rendered him uneasy. All his 
honours were nothing as long as Mordecai the Jew did not cringe 
to him. My Lords, pride and ambition will discover itself in 
small, as well as in great things. 'Tis not the value of the 
things themselves, but the opinion men have of them, that makes 
the having or wanting of them create pleasure or uneasiness. 
Little souls are vexed with very trifling matters, while great 
minds will endure much without shewing the least uneasiness. 
This Haman was now at the height of all his expectations; he 
was the second man in the empire, and highly in favour both 
with the king and the queen; he feasted with them, and drank 
with them, when others were kept at a distance, and had every 

favour 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



47 



favour shewn him that he could expect. But nothing would 
serve him unless poor Mordecai was brought to his feet. He 
could expect no advantage by having a poor Jew lying prostrate 
before him; this could put but small matters into the treasury. 
But, my Lords, what think ye of a man shewing his power and 
authority? Ah! the lust of power is a strong passion ! It is a 
sweet thing to ambitious men to see all the world cringing as 
their humble servants; they would risk an empire, rather than 
lose this gratification. Ask experience concerning this point, and 
you will not be able to deny it. What profit could arise to the 
empire of Persia from all the tribes of Israel being brought to 
the feet of Haman ? It would not have brought one shilling 
into the treasury. But then the authority of the senate, if there 
were any, and the power of the crown, would be supported 
with all their true dignity. A poor dignity, my Lords, where 
there is neither a physical nor moral advantage gained! 

But Haman goes on; he wants all the race of the Jews extir- 
pated from the face of the earth. Horrid resolution! He has 
them first outlawed, and then he appoints the time of their 
destruction. Letters are written, and sealed with the king's 
seal, which the minister prostituted for the purpose of shedding 
blood. This prime-minister, my Lords, deceived his master by 
a false representation of the captive Jews. Hear how he tells 
his story: " There is a certain people scattered abroad, and dis- 
persed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom, and 
their laws are diverse from all people, neither keep they the king's 
laws-, therefore it is not ft for the king's profit to suffer them. 
If it please thee, let it be written that they may be destroyed" 
Do you think that this was a fair state of the case? It is true, 
they were scattered abroad through the provinces; but how 
could they help that? It was not choice, but necessity, that 
brought them into that situation. But that they did not keep 
the king's laws, was mere slander, for which there was no proof 
but Hainan's word. But it was not for the king's profit to suffer 
them. Certainly it was; for the more subjects a king has, the 
richer and stronger he is. A king's wealth depends upon the 
multitude of his subjects, and not the extent of his dominions. 
Desolate valieys and wild mountains, without inhabitants, will 
enrich no sovereign. But the true secret was, Haman was 
offended, and he wanted them destroyed. Ah! cursed ambition, 
what ruin hast thou brought upon mankind! no degree of inno- 
cence is a defence against thy inveterate influence. 

All things were now ready for the destruction of the Jew?, 
except the permission of Heaven: this Haman never thought 
of. The money was raised to pay the expences of the war, and 
all things were in the greatest forwardness for the ruin of the 
whole scattered tribes of Israel ; when, lo! on a sudden, mat- 
ters take another turn. Mark, my Lords, how Providence in- 
terposed ! how the Gpd of heaven counteracted the schemes 

of 



48 



SERMON VII. 



of a wicked and proud minister of state! The king could get 
no sleep, and called for the book of records; an happy circum- 
stance for the devoted Jews, and poor Mordecai, who to all ap- 
pearance had no long time to live. It was found that Mordecai 
had saved the king's life. This was a palpable contradiction to 
Hainan's charge. Falsehood and villainy, my Lords, will, some 
time or other, be detected. The very man that was accused of 
having principles inimical to the king and his government had 
detected a conspiracy against the king's life. When courtiers 
have private ends to serve, and are not under the government 
of virtue, they will affirm any thing to serve their own purposes, 
at the expence of every principle of justice and morality. The 
searching of the records opened a speedy deliverance for Mor- 
decai and the Jews. How happy a circumstance was it that 
this good deed was recorded! it might for ever have been neg- 
lected, had it not been posted in the book of records. But let 
us take a view of the scene which goes before the opening of 
this, now hinted. Haman had been at the banquet of wine with 
the king and queen, and returned elated with pride and ambition, 
because none of the nobles were called except himself; but in 
returning he sees Mordecai at the king's gate, who did him no 
reverence: this threw a damp upon his spirits, and filled hirn 
•with melancholy. When he had told his wife and family all his 
glory, and the high favour he was exalted to, he could not heip 
mentioning this mortifying anecdote concerning Mordecai. " Yet 
all this availeth me nothing, so long as 1 see Mordecai sitting at 
the king y s gate." May shame and a thousand worse things befal 
thee, Haman! who in the midst of so much glory could not be 
happy because a poor Jew was permitted to sit at the king's 
gate. Had he been invited to the feast, and set at the table 
above thee, what couldst thou have said more? If he gave thee 
no homage, he did thee no evil; and it was mean, very mean 
in thee, to be so discomposed about a trifle. But it was no 
trifle to Haman. His whole heart was set upon this one object; 
and all his glory couid not ease his melancholy, while this rub 
was in his way. 

His wife and his friends soon devise an expedient. " Then 
said Zeresh his wife, and all his friends, unto him, Let a gallows be 
made fifty cubits high, and to-morrow speak thou to the king, that 
Mordecai may be hanged thereon; then go thou merrily with the 
Icing unto the banquet." Ah ! Zeresh, what an hellish advice 
is this you give your husband! Can he not be great without 
murder? Can no scheme be devised to satisfy his pride, with- 
out shedding of blood? Ah! cursed passion! but to morrow 
will find other employment for your husband, and open a new 
and unexpected scene. How wonderfully do the wheels of Pro- 
vidence turn round ! and how rapidly ! Haman was come into the 
outer court to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai. But, 
instead of gaining his purpose, he devises the highest preferment 

to 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



49 



to the person which of all others in the world he hated most. 
Says the king, " What shall be done to the man whom the king 
delighteth to honour?" Haman was now upon the stretch what 
to devise, thinking the honour would light upon himself: and it 
must he allowed that his device was abundantly extravagant. 
" Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, 
and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal that is 
set upon his head: and let this apparel and horse be delivered to the 
hand of one of the king's most noble princes ; that they may array 
the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him 
on horseback through the streets of the city, and proclaim before 
him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to 
honour" My Lords, could there be a more wild and extrava- 
gant device than this? Did not all this shew that Haman would 
have been king it he could have reached the point? The king's 
royal apparel, the king's horse, and the king's royal diadem, and 
one of the king's most noble princes to perform the ceremony! 
This loudly proclaimed the principles and the ambition of the 
man. May we not suppose that Hainan's pride would rise a 
degree at every clause of the sentences he uttered, and his heart 
would flutter with self-approbation ? He would be imagining 
himself mounted upon the king's horse, dressed in the royal 
apparel, with the crown royal upon his head; he would hear by 
anticipation the proclamation of one of the king's most noble 
princes, and see the crowd staring in amaze at the honours con- 
ferred upon him. He would imagine how pleased Zeresh his 
wife would be to see her husband dressed in such state, and 
dignified with such honour. In a word, his device shews all 
these and many more foolish imaginations that would work 
upon his heart during the period of this reverie. 

" Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the ap- 
parel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai 
the Jew that sitteth in the king's gate." Good heavens ! the man 
will drop down! See how he looks! he is pale as ashes! there 
is not one drop of blood in his face! his knees smite upon each 
other! his whole frame is convulsed! What a ghastly figure 
he makes ! Hamlet's ghost appears an angel to him. Had it 
been any other person than Mordecai, it would still have been 
b grievous mortification to the pride or Haman. But Mordecai — • 
the man whom he hated above all men — the man for whom he 
had prepared a gallows seventy-five feet high — to lead him 
through the city in state, was worse than death. Only consider, 
my Lords, that if it were your own case, how would you en- 
dure it? It would, no doubt, be as sore an affliction to Haman 
to trudge at the foot of Mordecai's horse, as it would be for 

Lord B to lead Mr. W >s through the city of London in 

the same manner. I cannot help pitying him. The shock was 
so much the more severe as it was sudden, It was what his 
pride deserved, and his cruelty truly merited ; but on that ac- 
count 



50 



SERMON VII. 



count he was the more unfit to bear it. What a strange figure 
he would make in his procession through the city Shusan, with 
all the people gazing, the rabble running and shouting? See, 
see! behold Haman — Haman, who yesterday made a gallows 
for Mordecai the Jew, and went to day to ask to have him 
hanged thereon, walking at his foot like a page, all dust and 
dirt! 

There is no doubt, my Lords, that the populace, who are often- 
times ill-used by such as Haman, would now, in his reverse of 
fortune, express their revenge by the pleasure they would take 
in his humiliation, and give him many taunts and jibes in pass- 
ing through the streets of the city, which would go like darts 
to his heart. Do you see the man, that nothing would serve 
except royal apparel, and the king's princes to lead his horse 
through the city, become the foot page of a captive Jew? Sic 
transit gloria mundi! No better comes of pride and ambition ! 
A haughty spirit goes before a fall! These and a thousand 
other sarcasms would, no doubt, meet the ears of Haman while 
he was perambulating the city with Mordecai and his horse at 
his heels. The princes of Media and Persia would not be ill- 
pleased at his mortification; for almost all men in their hearts 
abhor a very ambitious man. They would look through their 
windows, and smile at the man, who despised all the great men 
of the empire, now acting the part of a lacquey to a poor captive 
Israelite, and trudging at his horse's feet. 

But suppose the procession over — for it would not last very 
long, as Haman would, no doubt, endeavour to get it off his 
hands as soon as possible — in what condition must we imagine 
the first minister of state in Persia to be? We need imagine no- 
thing ; the text informs us, " Haman hasted to his house mourn- 
ing, and having his head covered.'' Had he never done any more 
to create shame than what he had now done, he might have gone 
with an open face through all Shushan: but his pride and 
wickedness had caused him to make a gallows for Mordecai, 
whom he hoped to have hanged, and now his hopes were 
gone, while the guilt of the intention remained upon his con- 
science. 

But how would he be able to tell his friends and Zeresh his 
wife the manoeuvres of that day? he must have done it in the 
best manner that he could, for the text informs us, that he told 
them all, and that they proved like Job's comforters to him, and 
aggravated his distress: " If Mordecai he of the seed of the Jeics, 
before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shall not prevail against 
him, but shalt surely fall before him" 

Haman had scarcely got his heart eased by telling his doleful 
story, before the king's chamberlains came to hasten him to the 
banquet which the queen had prepared. He now went with a 
different tone of mind from that which he had at the last feast. 
But go he must. We are now drawing near to the period of 

Haman's 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



51 



Hainan's career. There are some things interwoven with the 
fall of this minister that must be considered. The queen, in her 
own defence and that of her people, was the cause of his down- 
fall, though it does not appear that she intended his death. A 
number of circumstances concurred to work his overthrow, and 
humble his ambition. That the queen should have been called 
into the presence of the king, at a time when it was not ex- 
pected ; that the king should be rendered restless and uneasy 
till the records were brought to him; that Hainan should devise 
his own disgrace in contriving honour for Mordecai, which he 
meant for himself, are all circumstances of which the special pro- 
vidence of God seems to have been the only cause. 

But let us now attend Haman to the banquet of wine, the 
last that ever he tasted in this world. He had not yet thought 
upon the reversing the decree which had been passed against the 
Jews: the queen had therefore good reason to plead her own 
cause against his wickedness. When the king gave her an op- 
portunity to ask what she pleased, she did not ask for Haman's 
death, but asked for her own life and that of her countrymen, 
that they might be preserved from the sentence that was now 
passed against them. Could any thing be more modest? " Let 
my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: 
for we are sold, and my people are to be destroyed, to be slain and 
to perish." Such a tale as this could not but alarm the king; 
and he expresses how much he was interested in it by his quick 
and sudden interrogation. " Who is he, and where is he, that 
durst presume in his heart to do so?" It is plain that the king 
had been brought into this measure against the Jews by surprise, 
otherwise he would not so soon have forgotten what he had 
done. Truly, my Lords, ministers of state have much to an- 
swer for, who mislead a sovereign that puts trust in them. What 
a deluge of blood would Haman have brought upon his master's 
head, had not Providence prevented it? He meant to have 
killed and destroyed all the Jews throughout the whole empire, 
under the sanction of his master's authority. 

The queen's reply to the king's interrogation is warm, and 
expressed with great earnestness: " The adversary and enemy is 
that wicked Haman " and there was good reason for earnest- 
ness on this occasion. " Skin for skin, all that a man hath will 
he give for his life" Haman in the fore part of the day was 
much cast down; " he went home mourning, with his head co- 
vered." But now there is greater reason to be concerned: there 
is a capital charge brought home to him in his face; it is no 
less than high treason, a design against the life of the queen. 
How mean, my Lords, are tyrants, when they are brought to a 
pinch! See how the minister turns suppliant to one of the 
very persons that not long ago he had passed sentence of death 
upon. He intercedes with the queen for his own life, with all 
the dastardly abjectness of a wicked tyrant and a coward. But 

his 



SERMON VII. 



his means did not answer the end. Wicked men seldom have 
presence of mind in difficulty; every measure they take tends 
to their ruin. Why did not Haman make his escape when the 
king was in the garden ; for there was as yet no sentence passed 
upon him? The wrath of the king might have cooled, had the 
object gone out of the way. " The sinners hands make the cords 
by which they themselves are caught" Haman ran to his own 
destruction; the king found him in the queen's bed, which was 
another additional otfence, and added to the flame of the royal 
indignation. He covered his face not long ago for shame, but it 
is covered now, never more to behold the sun. They covered 
Haman's face, and no doubt led him away out of the royal pre- 
sence ; but it proved in the end to be to the gallows. There are 
always some officious persons, when the tide turns against a 
man, to help him down the stream. " Harbonah, one of the 
chamberlains, said before the king, Behold the galloivs, fifty cu- 
bits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who had spoken good 
for the king" Ministers of state, when they incur the king's 
displeasure, must not expect any favour or assistance from their 
fellow-courtiers: they will be ready to tell all the ill they know 
of them. What occasion had Harbonah to be so officious and 
circumstantial in his story concerning the gallows ? It was of 
no consequence whether it had been fifteen or fifty feet high. 
One cannot see any reason why Haman ordered it so high at 
first, unless, through some fatality, he did it to make his down- 
fall more like his ambition : he loved always to be high; and his 
latter end was an image of his life. Ah! the sentence is just, 
but sudden and severe! " Hang him thereon" Not give the 
miserable sinner time to say, Lord have mercy upon me! It was 
hard, my Lords ; I would not give my consent to have my 
greatest enemy served so. They might have done a thousand 
things to him, besides hanging him. Might they not have con- 
fined him in prison, banished him, or sent him on board a ship, 
to help to clear some channel or river, under the government of 
some of those he had tyrannized over? In the space of some years 
he might, perhaps, have repented, and turned from his evil ways. 
But to hurry a miserable wretch out of time into eternity, in the 
twinkling of an eye, without giving him leave to see his wife and 
children, or speak to his friends, was a dreadful affair. Had 
there been trial by jury in Persia, Haman might have had some 
chance for his life, or at least been fairly tried, and his wickedness 
condemned by the law of the land; but to be sent out of the 
world at the command of one man was exceedingly arbitrary. 
My Lords, if any of you imagine that you would rule the nation 
better and safer without juries, I would advise you to reflect 
upon this story in the text. Princes are changeable creatures, 
and court-favour uncertain. If you fall into disgrace, perhaps 
impeachment may follow, and then you will see the real use and 
benefit of juries. You cannot be higher in the favour of your 

master, 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



53 



master, than Haman was in the favour of the king of Persia ; 
and yet you see how Fortune's wheel whirled round, till it 
whirled Hainan out of his life, and ruined his whole family. 
The moral reasons of this catastrophe of Haman and his family 
are sufficient to vindicate Providence in his downfall. He deter- 
mined to shed innocent blood, and was justly punished for his 
intention, which, in the eye of the divine law, was much the 
same as if he had committed the deed ; for he would have done 
it if he could. 

But I must hasten to a conclusion. My audience may learn 
from this story, that the highest men are not safe, whatever 
power they may be possessed of, while their conduct and beha- 
viour is not regulated by the rules of mercy and truth. When 
rules of policy are not founded in moral laws, and when govern- 
ment is not executed according to the moral will of the Supreme 
Legislator of the universe, the magistrate who executes them is 
in a dangerous situation. The God of Heaven will not suffer 
the powers of this world to rule long, when they trample upon 
natural justice. My Lords, there is a ne plus ultra; hitherto thou 
shalt come, and no farther. Things may seem to promise fair, 
and ail go smoothly on for a season, to let men discover their 
intentions, that all may see the justness of the downfall of oppres- 
sors: but the wheels of Providence are all the while turning 
round, and will, in the conclusion, crush every power that is 
not directed by the moral will of God. There is one simple rule 
which should be observed by all men who are set up to govern 
others, or into whose hands government is committed, namely, 
never to promote acts of government that are not self-evidently 
founded in natural justice and the will of God. Common sense 
will teach all men, who are not idiots, the one, and revelation the 
other. If there be any dispute upon this head, it will proceed 
from some lust that wars in members of society. No penal 
statutes whatsoever ought to be made for any conveniency that 
does not answer a moral end and purpose; nor ought the dignity 
of a crown or legislature to be set in opposition to any principle 
of natural justice or moral truth; for in such case it is not true 
dignity, but the disgrace of royalty and legislature. What is 
often called the dignity of the crown ought to be called the 
ambition and pride of some minister of state, who minds more 
his own interest and ambition than the true dignity of his master 
and the crown. For as unreasonable as the lower ranks of 
mankind are supposed to be by men in power, yet, my Lords, 
I would whisper a serious thing in your ears,— -that it is very 
easy for rulers to please them ; it requires no more than to 
rule by justice, and keep the fear of God before your eyes. Let 
not government be intolerably expensive; for there never can 
be any reason for making a divine appointment burdensome. 
Men in high life have often lalse ideas of the solemnity of go- 
vernment; they imagine the expensive pageantry of state gives 

I dignity 



54 



SERMON VII. 



dignity to government In the eyes of the people; but this is a 
mistake. The people are not quite so senseless and stupid as the 
idea implies. They will pay more reverence to government dressed 
in truth and justice than in ermine; and pay more regard to a 
decent grave man executing justice in mercy, than to a splendid 
tyrant, surrounded with officers of justice armed with the im- 
plements of death. It is a mistake which often loses a govern- 
ment the affections of the subjects; they imagine that they want 
discernment, and are not judges of what pertains to their own 
affairs. I can assure you, my Lords, they pay you off in your 
own way when you judge in this manner, and say often some 
very shrewd things concerning the characters of men in high 
offices. They compare great things to small, as Virgil compared 
Rome to Mantua, though they do not find reason to make such 
a difference between you and themselves as the poet made be- 
tween Mantua and Rome. If you were to hear them talk about 
the stories of Doctors' Commons, and the intrigues of courtiers, 
it would amaze you. They will often say to one another, 
" These are fine men indeed to direct public affairs, who cannot 
govern their own appetites. Are these the makers and exe- 
cutors of our laws, that profane them so openly and abominably, 
who neither seem to fear God nor regard men ? Matters are 
come to a fine pass, when adulterers, whoremongers, fornicators, 
and gamblers, become legislators. The nation will certainly 
thrive now, when such godly men have the management of it. 
We may expect the taxes will be lessened, and our money laid 
out with great economy, by the jockies of Newmarket, who are 
so frugal in their own affairs. Religion will thrive now, when 
Lord Spindleshanks is placed at the head of the church." Truly, 
my Lords, you would be surprised to hear the sarcasms which 
the country-people throw forth, upon such topics, against people 
in high rank. Would you imagine that a country hind would 
be able to keep a register of all the natural children of every jus- 
tice of the quorum in the county? The people are really not 
so stupid as you imagine; I could give you many instances of 
their sagacity, but these may serve for a specimen. They are 
almost all acquainted with the story of Haman, and know the 
height of the gallows to an inch, and make some very pertinent 
comments upon it, that would astonish you. I have mentioned 
these things, my Lords, for your information, and shall leave 
you to ponder upon them. Amen, 



SERMON 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



S5 



SERMON VIII. 

1 Kings, xii. 18. 

Then king Rehoboam sent A dor am, who was over the treasury , and 
all Israel stoned him with stones till he died. 

r T , HIS was contrary to all law and government: but there 
was now no government in Israel. The folly of the king 
and his new ministry had now reduced the kingdom to a state 
of nature. Every one did what he pleased; and that Adoram 
felt. This is a shocking affair, my Lords : God grant that we 
may never see any thing like it in this country. The story 
that goes before will shew us the reason of this affair. It is plain 
from the context, that at the time of Solomon's death the king- 
dom of Israel, though apparently in a flourishing condition, was 
very much oppressed, and the people were groaning under very 
heavy burdens. The expences of the king's household were 
exceedingly extravagant: Solomon's provision "for one day was 
thirty measures o f fine f our, and threescore measures of meal, 
ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, an hundred sheep, 
and roe-bucks, and fallow deer, and fatted fowl." What a pro- 
digious expence this would come to, provided commodities were 
as dear as they are now in Britain? Three hundred bushels of 
fine flour, six hundred bushels of meal, ten fat oxen, twenty out 
of the pastures, an hundred sheep, and a vast quantity of venison 
and fowls, forty thousand horses for chariots, and twelve thou- 
sand horsemen. There is three millions for you at once ; and if 
you please to add the pensions of the great officers, and other 
contingencies for the year, you may perhaps make as much. A 
most extravagant peace establishment! And, above all this, the 
people were oppressed with labour in building houses; for, 
besides the temple, the king's own house cost a vast expence, 
and held the people employed for thirteen years. And, what 
was worst of all, they were not left at their liberty, but levied 
out of the tribes to carry on the king's works; thirty thousand 
cutting down timber in Lebanon, threescore thousand bearing 
burdeus, and three thousand three hundred officers set over 
them, all labouring like slaves to advance the glory of one man. 
No wonder the people complained of an heavy yoke. It is true, 
the silver and the gold were plentiful; but they were of little 
value, and in that case were no true riches. Solomon's East 
India Company brought in a large quantity of foreign commo- 
dities; but as these were only luxuries of life, they added no 
true riches to the nation, but introduced corruption and dissi- 
pation. Apes and peacocks are buUrirling commodities, — some- 



5(5 



SERMON VIII. 



thing like the trinkets which are introduced from China to Eng- 
land, very gaudy to look at, but exceedingly unprofitable to the 
consumer. Perhaps there never was a poorer country under so 
rich a king, as Israel was in the latter part of Solomon's reign. 
His household expences, and that of his government, in the time 
of peace, were very extravagant. Three hundred concubines 
and seven hundred wives were not easily supported. Besides, 
vice became very predominant during the time of Solomon's 
apostacy, and the nation was groaning under oppression. This 
was the reason of all Israel laying their petitions of grievances 
before the young king, when he came to the throne. The text 
informs us, that " Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel were 
come to Shechem for to make him king" Does not this, my 
Lords, strike you with a manifest idea, that hereditary right, 
without the consent of the people, gives no man a title either to 
government or a kingdom. Solomon's son was his heir, but 
could not reign till he was chosen by the people. This was 
both natural and reasonable, whatever casuists may say to the 
contrary. Had Rehoboam taken it in this view, he would not 
have had his dominions curtailed in the manner they were. The 
people asked nothing but what was reasonable, and presented 
a very humble petition. " Thy father made our yoke grievous ; 
now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and 
his yoke which he put upon us, lighter" Was there any thing 
unreasonable in all this? They did not want all burdens re- 
moved, but only some hard services lessened. There was no 
disloyalty in this request; they certainly had a right to pe- 
tition their king for a redress of grievances, and they used 
their right very modestly. The king took three days to con- 
sider the subject. One would have thought he needed not to 
have taken an hour, the matter was so plain ; but he had his 
ministers to consult. And had he taken the advice of his father's 
counsellors, all had been well ; for they advised him right, aud 
gave him wholesome counsel : " And they spake unto him, saying, 
If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve 
them, and answer them, and speak good words unto them, then will 
they be thy servants for ever" Could there be a wiser and sarer 
advice, my Lords, than this? It was as much the duty of the 
sovereign to hear their petition as their's to obey his lawful com- 
mandments. He was their servant, they his; and it was their 
mutual interests to serve each other. All sovereigns, in a 
moral view, lose their right to rule others when they turn oppres- 
sors; their government is no longer an ordinance of God than it 
is consistent with his moral will. Were we, my Lords, to reason 
upon this subject, it would be natural to inquire, what is the 
will of God concerning this point, and whether it is right, of 
every man to know the divine mind concerning civil govern- 
ment? And whether, upon supposition that the practice thereof 
is palpably opposite to divine rules, every man has a right to 

judge 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



57 



judge of the difference, and form his conduct accordingly? 
There are two rules to be observed in this inquiry : the first is, 
what the law of nature and reason dictates, and what the will of 
God requires? Reason and the law of nature are the same in 
all things they teach concerning right and wrong; and revela« 
tion does not differ from them, though there are some who have 
the benefit of the first that have not the privilege of the latter. 
If either the established laws of nations or the temporary man- 
dates of states are contrary to these, they cannot be lawfully 
obeyed. In this case any man may resist them without sin; and 
in case he is not able to resist, he ought to suffer rather than obey 
them. It is alleged, that the vulgar are not capable of judging 
concerning principles of government; — I answer, they are then 
not capable of being guilty of transgression; for where there is 
a want of capacity of judgment there can be no sin. This is a 
dangerous argument, my Lords, and exposes government to the 
violence of every one who can overturn it with impunity. You 
have no defence against any person in this case who is resolute, 
except superior strength ; for the gallows will not frighten a man 
who is not conscious of guilt, if he has any degree of natural 
fortitude. Try to persuade the vulgar that there is any case in 
which they cannot sin, and you will soon perceive what opera- 
tion it will have upon them. But when you tell them they are 
not judges of your manoeuvres of state, they will soon tell you 
that they cannot transgress what they do not understand; and 
that you require of them more than the Deity requires of them, 
or even supposes; for he requires no duty without first allowing 
men to judge of his laws, and makes no laws beyond the reach 
of their understanding. That foolish threadbare maxim of 
minor politicians ought to be totally given up, — that the vulgar 
are not qualified to judge of matters of state. Why do your 
Bishops give them confirmation ? Why do you administer oaths 
unto them? And why are they admitted to the sacrament, if 
they are so stupidly ignorant? Does any thing that comes 
through the fingers of government require more real understand- 
ing than those that have been just mentioned. All the common 
people may uot be qualified to understand financiering, or how 
to manage a sinking fund ; but if the grounds of government 
were kept clear, no such thing would be wanted. This is only 
a medicine for a disease in government, that has been brought on 
by folly, and continued by madness. And be assured, that even 
amongst the lowest class of the people many understand the 
theory of financiering as well as the First Lord of the Treasury; 
and with regard to practice, his wisdom cannot be much ad- 
mired on some occasions. To annex penalties to laws that 
are not self-evidently founded in natural justice and the re- 
vealed will of God, and obvious to the meanest capacity, is just 
as unreasonable as to punish a man for not running so fast in the 
midst of pitchy darkness as when it is clear sunshine. 

But, 



58. SERMON VIII. 

But that the people have a right to judge of government and 
governors, by divine approbation, is plain from the story before 
us, which we shall pursue till we come to the fall of Adoram. 
My Lords, it is now three days since we heard of Rehoboam 
and the people of Israel; he has had both good and bad counsel 
given him during this period. He rejected the counsel of the 
old men, and advised with those that were grown up with him 
and stood before him, looking for preferment no doubt, for 
which most men always reckon themselves qualified. I almost 
tremble to read over their advice to this infatuated monarch: — 
" And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, 
saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people, that spake unto 
thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, hut make thou it 
lighter unto us ; thus shalt thou say unto them: My little finger 
shall he heavier than my fathers loins. And now whereas my 
father did lade you with an heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; 
my father hath chastised you with whips, but 1 will chastise you 
with scorpions.'* Ah ! what a foolish and wicked advice, my 
Lords. There were vigorous measures for you. But it is one 
thing to form a scheme, and another to put it in execution ; 
your Lordships know this from experience. How were the 
people astonished at such a cruel answer to their dutiful petition ! 
It would amaze them ; but we are sure it vexed them. It is 
evident, the king imagined that a little steadiness and perse- 
verance would humble the pride of the people; they would 
fall out among themselves, and would not continue in their op- 
position; — that it was all owing to Jeroboam, and a few factious 
leaders among them, who could not long continue to agree 
among themselves; — that if they once saw but a few royal 
troops, well appointed, they would soon return to their duty; — 
that a raw undisciplined militia could never make head against 
men who were inured to discipline, and understood war, and had 
the sanction of royal authority. All these things would, no 
doubt, be affirmed by the young ministry, and believed by the 
king. But one thing is certain, that from this time forward the 
ten tribes were never subject to the house of David; for the 
text affirms, that " Israel rebelled against, the house of David" 
and never were reconciled to the government of it. Rehoboam, 
when he saw how far matters would go, and threatening had no 
effect, wanted to try negotiation ; but, as he was unfortunate 
in the choice of a ministry, he wa9 unhappy in the choice of a 
commissioner to bring about a reconciliation. Adoram, a man of 
ali others unfit for such an office, was sent with powers to treat 
with the revolted tribes. It would have required a man of character, 
of temper, and of great wisdom, to have managed such a weighty 
and tender piece of business. A man that had been a task- 
master over hewers of wood and bearers of burdens in Lebanon, 
was not fit to bring about a reconciliation of this sort. The 
people had not yet forgot his management when he was over 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



59 



the levy, when they were obliged to work hard in hewing stones 
and cutting down timber for the king's palace. This Adorarn is 
called Adoniram, chap. iv. 6\ and had now for a long time been 
First Lord of the Treasury : but, it would appear, his conduct 
was not agreeable to the people. The most of all the burdens of 
nations proceed from mismanagement in the treasury; and this 
seems now to have been the case. Matters were now come to a 
crisis: a change of men and measures was necessary ; but the king 
either would not or could not see it; and Adorarn would not 
resign of his own accord. Perhaps he would say, that as he had 
managed the helm of state when the wind blew fair, he would 
not quit the ship in the midst of the storm, but would bring 
her into port if possible. But, my Lords, he was shipwrecked, 
and the vessel dashed to pieces. This was fool-hardiness ; for 
a man ought to make an estimate of his skill, as well as his reso- 
lution, in a case like this. It is madness wilfully to dash a 
vessel against a rock for the sake of being accounted brave. Ado- 
ram ought to have resigned when the people would not treat 
with him. Ah! my Lords, resignation is a bitter thing: there 
are many sweet things in the corners of the treasury for feeding 
men's lusts; but they are sometimes like the book the apostle 
John eat, which was sweet as honey in his mouth, but bitter in 
his belly ; they taste well, but they digest badly. 

" Then king Rehoboam sent Adorarn, who was oner the tribute, 
and all Israel stoned him with stoves that he died. 1 ' Lord have 
mercy on us! The man's as dead as Nimrod, who died some 
thousand years before. This, my Lords, is an action that I can- 
not approve of, It was certainly murder; and though, perhaps, 
Adorarn deserved all he met with, yet it was not right in the 
people to be so severe. I do not hear that they gave him time to 
ask mercy and forgiveness. Perhaps he might be like Arch- 
bishop Sharp, who would not pray when his executioners de- 
sired him and gave him liberty. Be this as it may, I would not 
wish to see the most abandoned minister of state in Europe used 
in such a manner. But who can help the people, when they are, 
by the mismanagement of rulers, reduced to a state of nature? 
They have then justice in their own hands, and they will use it. 
Perhaps, my Lords, he was guilty of bloodshed, or had taken 
away some people's lives unjustly, during the time of his minis- 
try. If this was the case, it was a glorious action; for " he that 
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." Murderers 
deserve no mercy; the law of God allows them none. But who 
are murderers? Those, my Lords, are guilty of murder, who, 
for reasons not mentioned in the law of God, take away the lives 
of others deliberately, either by themselves or their authority. 
When men continue to observe divine statutes, and human laws 
founded thereon, those who kill for reasons of state are guilty of 
murder. Before a man's blood be shed, there ought to be a moral 
reason for it. There is not a power upon earth that has a right 

to 



60 



SERMON VIII. 



to make any more capital crimes than the divine law makes. It 
is strange, my Lords, that thieves should be hanged, and adul- 
terers should escape: this is contrary to the divine law. And 
it is also amazing, that little thieves should suffer, and great 
ones should get clear: this is certainly partiality. 

Whatever were the reasons of the people's proceedings, you 
see Adoram is gone; it is hard to say what a nation will do 
when they are heartily provoked. The history of Charles I. 
affords a proof of it, particularly in the times of universal dis- 
order. It is good not to provoke a people too far, lest they 
should commit some outrage. They are, in general, .easily ma- 
naged ; one thing will do it: " Take away the wicked from 
before the ki?ig, and his throne will be established in righteousness'* 
But who are wicked? All proud men — covetous men — tyran- 
nical men — adulterers — and all who do not fear and obey God. 
All who do not keep the* day of God holy are wicked, and 
ought not to be trusted with the concerns of a nation. 

But I shall conclude this Discourse by considering some of the 
moral reasons for this revolt, and the fall of Adorarn. I shall 
only lead your views to a few things which are recorded in 
Scripture history. " But king Solomon loved many strange wo- 
men." And, no doubt, his prime minister did the same; for they 
are always ready to imitate their master. These wives and 
concubines always led his heart from God, and made him turn 
idolatrous and superstitious, which God accounted treason 
against him. No man can serve his lusts, and obey the Almighty 
at once. It is not to be supposed that followers of vile women 
will either serve God or their king faithfully. A man of plea- 
sure, or a woman of pleasure, are only genteel names for vile 
filthy creatures. The Almighty has given all men an instinct 
for propagating their species; but he has also confined them to 
rules; and when these are transgressed, the wise purpose is sel- 
dom answered. Solomon had but one son, notwithstanding all 
the wives and concubines he had; nor do we hear that ever he 
had either son or daughter except Rehoboam. Heaven's curse 
will always attend fornicators, one way or other. The lusts of 
the flesh render the mind callous to spiritual exercises; and men 
given to lasciviousness are generally either addicted to supersti- 
tion, or inclined to atheism. Their feelings are merely imaginary, 
and never reach the heart. It is plain that king and people 
were guilty in some respect of idolatry ; for the text says, " Be- 
cause they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the 
goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and 
Milcom the god of the children of Ammon> and have not walked 
in my ways, I will take the kingdom out of his sons hands." 
What could possess the king and his ministry to introduce ido- 
latry, when it was so severely threatened? I will give you the 
reason, my Lords; — their lust and vices rendered their minds 
indifferent to all true religion, and they made choice of that 

which 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



51 



which was most agreeable to their appetites and passions. Popery 
never overspread Europe till all sorts of wickedness abounded, 
and men departed from the pure dictates of truth. And, my 
Lords, the same causes will bring it back again to places where 
it has been, in a manner, a stranger for some ages. I am not sure 
but I could prove that the late Popish bill proceeded from the 
same causes by which Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom, were 
introduced into the kingdom of Israel. The introduction of 
these gods was owing to the women of the nations to whom they 
belonged ; and, probably, Protestants intermarrying with Papists 
is the cause of introducing their gods, and giving countenance 
to their idolatry. I dare say, Ashtoreth is just as good a god as 
either St. Becket or the Virgin Mary; knows as much about 
what men are doing in this world as Abraham does, and that is 
just — nothing at all. Public authority for teaching idolatry has 
a strange appearance, my Lords : the son of Solomon, and his 
people, smarted for it. We should take warning from things 
that have happened, and guard against the causes of evils. But 
in the days of Rehoboam there were Sodomites in the land, 
Good Lord deliver fcs from such vermin! Surely there can be 
none of these in England, where Christianity is professed. I 
wish it may be so, my Lords. Fame is not to be trusted, if 
some of these vile animals are not in some parts of the nation, 
and not so very secret either. I hope it is not true ; but if it is 
so, it has a bad aspect. You see what it brought upon Israel, 
and was one of the moral causes of the disasters we have been 
considering. Take warning in time, lest the sentence pass;— * 
and then it is all over. " They stoned Adoram with stones that 
he died. 11 Amen, 



SERMON IX. 

2 Samuel, xxiv. 14. 

And David said, I am in a great strait: let me fall into the 
hand o f the Lord, for his mercies are great ; and let me not fall 
into the hands of men. 

^HE king of Israel appears now to have been at his last shift r 
if he had thought of this affair sooner, his present embar- 
rassment would have been prevented. But, you will be ready 
to say, what had David done to bring all this "indignation upon 
himself and the nation? Numbering the people was no great 

K aifair ; 



62 



SERMON IX. 



affair; and what king would not desire to know the strength of 
his dominions? My Lords, the Almighty thought otherwise; 
and he had sufficient moral reasons for his judgments. It argued 
either want of confidence in Jehovah, who had promised to pro- 
tect Israel by his Almighty providence, or great vanity in the 
king, in the time of profound peace, to disturb all the nation 
with a public census. It is most probable that David numbered 
the people with the same design that people number their cattle, 
to know his own power, riches, and importance; and to let them 
see what authority he had over them. There is a dreadful 
enchantment in the notion of having power; it intoxicates the 
mind, and makes men do many foolish things. Joab, who was 
always a good friend to David, saw the impropriety of this mea- 
sure, and endeavoured to dissuade him from it; but he could not 
prevail. The king was set upon it, and would be his own mi- 
nister: but he soundly smarted for it. What a compound of 
inconsistency is man? And what a strange riddle are monarchs 
and princes? David had experienced the protection of divine 
providence, when almost all Israel forsook him and joined Absa- 
lom, and yet he would know the strength of his kingdom, which in 
truth was no strength at all without the favour of the Almighty. 
What signify legions, my Lords, without God on their side? 
They are mere nothings. The countenance of Heaven supports 
princes in safety; and they are never truly safe without it. As 
David had seen so much of God's goodness in his favour, and 
had been so frequently delivered from his enemies by the imme- 
diate providence of the Almighty, it would be natural to sup- 
pose he ought to have known better than to provoke him with 
an action that implied a distrust either of his power or his will. 
The king did know; but his lust of power, and the force of 
vanity, got the better of his understanding, and seduced his 
heart. 

But how came David to fall into this error? My Lords, there 
were two causes that operated in bringing about this matter; 
first, the anger of the Lord against Israel ; and, secondly, the 
influence of Satan the adversary, who provoked David to do it. 
In the beginning of this chapter where our text is, it is said, 
" And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and, 
1 Chron. xxi. 1. it is added, " And Satan stood up against Israel, 
and provoked David to number Israel." Though in the reign of 
David Israel behaved better than in any time after, yet there 
were many sins prevailing during his reign. The king's own 
family may be taken for a sample of all the rest of the kingdom: 
his sons were wicked and lagcivjous. Amnon debauched his 
own sister, and Absalom murdered his brother; it is manifest 
therefore, that David did not rule his own house with that autho- 
rity he ought to have done. Perhaps, as he himself was inclined 
to gallantry, he imagined that the young princes might be a 
little indulged, and make free with the maids of honour. This 

is 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



6$ 



is not thought a great crime in the families of princes; but it is 
displeasing to the Lord, because it is an evil example to the sub- 
jects, who are ready to take a pattern from the king's household. 
The pure eyes of Jehovah cannot endure such abominable wick- 
edness; it was for such crimes that God drove out the Canaan- 
ites from before the face of Israel. If all the families through, 
the kingdom were like that of the king, what strange scenes 
would there be in Israel? Had there been a court like Doc- 
tors* Commons in the land, there would have been plenty of bu- 
siness tor the civilians and doctors. It is always a sign of great 
depravity of manners, when men of that character have much 
business ; and it is also a sure token of the downfall of an empire, 
when lasciviousness prevails without shame and punishment. 

There were also murders committed that were not punished 
according to law, Joab, the chief captain of the king's troops, 
had murdered two righteous persons more worthy than himself, 
and yet the king still employed him. This was contrary to the 
law, which required that murder should be punished with death. 
No sovereign can have a prerogative to pardon murder. If a 
nation grant, or a king assume, such a prerogative, he and that 
nation commence a warfare with Heaven, and must expect that 
Providence will vindicate the claim of innocent blood against 
both king and people. David's own sons, Absalom and Amnon, 
both deserved death according to the law; yet the king winked 
at their crimes, and received Absalom into favour after he had 
killed his brother, without either judge or jury, or judgment 
passed upon him. However David's natural affection might 
prevail, yet the law ought to have been dearer to him than a 
son ; for, by his indulgence of his own family, he set an example 
to all his subjects to transgress the law, and to bring down the 
vengeance of heaven upon them for their offences. For such 
offences as these now mentioned, as well as for the murder of 
Uriah the Hittite, God was displeased both with the king and 
Israel. He therefore withheld that favour and grace which 
would have defended him in the hour of temptation. The 
adversary, when he assaulted him, found him unassisted, and 
made an easy conquest of him. When divine aid is not afforded, 
Satan will soon overcome all the fortitude of the strongest 
principles of philosophy. It would appear that this adversary 
knew the time to provoke the king of Israel ; he did it when the 
Lord was angry with both the king and the people, when he 
knew that God would give no aid in the hour of temptation. It 
was easy for Satan to know this, both from his own experience 
in the world, and from the sins he saw abounding. Times of 
sinning will always be times of temptation also; for when men 
sin from principles of lust, of their own accord, it is but just 
that God let loose the adversary against them, to provoke them 
to commit some atrocious deed, and to expose themselves, that 
their judgment may appear just in the eyes of the world. 



64 



SERMON IX. 



It is not said that Satan tempted David when he committed 
adultery with Bathsheba: he needed none of the Devil's tempta- 
tions to this iniquity, because his own appetites inclined him 
strongly enough without them. But when men do not restrain 
their lusts and passions from pursuing forbidden pleasures, it is 
but just in God to let their enemy, Satan, loose upon them. 
This is the most severe judgment that can possibly happen to 
any one; for it is suffering them to punish themselves, by com- 
mitting one sin, because they have resolutely committed another. 
Nothing can be a severer punishment, than to be given up to 
Satan, and to be led captive by him at his pleasure. You smile, 
my Lords; but it is indeed a sad case, and was, on this occasion, 
the case of the .king of Israel. I wish it may be your case, 
either now or hereafter. If you have committed crimes wilfully, 
and contrary to God's law and the conviction of your own minds, 
you may expect that some such punishment as this will befall 
you. If once the adversary gets the direction of your minds, 
God knows where he may drive you. You see what a pass he 
brought David and Israel to. 

But what could be David's real intention in numbering the 
people? There is one capital reason which might be a motive 
with him, and I shall submit it to your Lordships. He intended 
to raise money by a new tax, and wanted to know who were 
able to contribute towards it. He might mean a capitation tax, 
or perhaps a tax upon houses; and this was a sure method to 
know the whole extent of what could be raised. But this thing 
displeased the Lord, who does not desire king's officers to peep 
in at every one's door, to know the whole amount of what God 
has given them. It is always when monarchies are going back- 
wards, or come to their summit, that such schemes are fallen 
upon. Virtuous and frugal nations need none of Satan's devices 
to help them. It is when the lusts of men are extravagant, that 
the Devil comes in to their aid, to help them to raise taxes. If 
men would live virtuously, there would be no more occasion for 
places and pensions about courts, than David, on this occasion, 
had for the adversary to stir him up to number the people. 

But let us see what a figure the king of Israel makes, when 
the prophet came with a message from the Lord to him, desiring 
him to choose one of three things. Three terrible things in- 
deed! but very suitable for the purpose of humbling the king's 
pride in glorying in the multitude of his subjects:— seven years 
famine; — to flee three months before the enemy; — or, three 
days pestilence. Which, my Lords, would you have chosen? 
Neither the first nor the last of these, I verily believe. Hunger 
you could neither abide nor endure, you have been so long accus- 
tomed to fulness and affluence; the pestilence you could not 
expect to ward off, for it carries away the great as well as the 
small. The chance of war would have been your choice, be- 
cause you would have imagined that in three months time 
. ' thirteen 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



65 



thirteen hundred thousand men would have made a good re- 
sistance, and you yourselves could have stayed away from the 
battle, and suffered the people to have taken their chance. It 
was, no doubt, my Lords, a pinching point. It truly was so ; 
but David made the wisest choice. He knew the Lord was 
merciful, and that, when no second causes operated, he never 
went to extremities. Had David joined battle with some pow- 
erful enemy, an hundred, nay, four hundred thousand might 
have fallen in one day; and in three months how many, 
think ye, might have fallen? The Jewish month consisted of 
thirty days; now, suppose there had been thirty battles in three 
months, there might have been twelve millions of people slain, 
which are more than there were in all Israel. 

When the passions of mankind are made use of by God as a 
mean lo execute his judgments, such judgments are always more 
severe than if the Almighty had executed them himself. His 
mercies are great, and that David knew. The Lord took a small 
sample of the people, to let the king and the nation know that 
he was just, and would be obeyed. What were seventy thousand 
men to what might have been, and deserved to be, destroyed ? 
Seven years famine, or three months war, might have depopulated 
the whole nation. The king of Israel knew too well what mis- 
chief war could do; he avoided war by all means: — and famine, 
being a lingering and wasting evil, in which even men might 
have some hand also, he did not choose it: — but, says he, 46 let 
me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great." 
Thus he had no claim but mercy — a claim, of all others, the 
most strong, and in which the Almighty takes the greatest 
pleasure. 

But let us now consider David's great strait, and see how he 
was delivered out of it. What pinched him hard was, that his 
heart smote him for his guilt in numbering the people; his con- 
science reproved him sharply, because somebody or other would 
certainly suffer by the choice the king should make. He had 
not only fallen into a scrape himself, but he had brought all the 
nation into it along with him. The nation appears to have given 
countenance to this foolish whim of the king. They seem to 
have been something like those people who are as proud of 
royal magnificence as kings are themselves. How many foolish 
subjects boast in the glory of their grand monarch, and, when he 
is treating them as mere slaves, rejoice in his greatness, and tri- 
umph in his magnificence. They glory in the armies he can 
raise, and boast in the number of his subjects. All Israel would 
probably be curious to know how many subjects, especially men 
of war, were in the nation; and every tribe would be glad to 
know his own strength. Thus the pride and vanity both of the 
king and the people w 7 ould be mutual, though for different rea- 
sons : but, with regard to both, it had the appearance of trust- 
ing to an arm of flesh, and forgetting the extraordinary provi- 
dence 



66 



SERMON IX. 



dence of God that preserved both the king and the people, 
David soon became sensible of this, and his conscience smote 
him, because he had led the nation into a snare. They ought 
to have opposed him and all his officers; for unless there had 
been some law for the deed, they were not obliged to obey. 
Subjects make the sins of princes their own, when they give 
them countenance. It pinched David sore when he lound the 
dilemma he was in, and the alternative he was brought to. Which- 
ever way he determined, death was the issue, and the king him- 
self was equally in danger as any of his subjects. There is still 
something of generosity in the king's temper: he was neither 
hardened in sin, nor gloried in what he had done; but when he 
saw his error, he was sorry for it, — not so much on his own ac- 
count, as on account of his people. There is something graat and 
noble in that sentence, my Lords — " Let thy hand, I pray thee, be 
against me and my father's house ; hut as for these sheep, what 
have they done? He could not endure the thoughts of the peo- 
ple suffering on account of his pride and ambition. O, my 
Lords! I wish you would infuse this sentiment into the mind of 
your master, as far as your influence can. It is really worthy 
of a king ; — it deserves to be written in letters of gold. Many 
princes would never have thought of such a thing as this; they 
would have imputed the whole affair to some malignity in the 
season, or second cause, which happened in the course of nature. 
But David saw the true cause, and confessed it, " / have sinned, 
and done wickedly" The strait that David was in was the greater, 
as there was no punishment. My Lords, there was an angel of 
Jehovah employed in this affair, which made himself visible to 
David. These ministering spirits can perform strange things ; 
they can not only bring the pestilence, but destroy whole hosts. 
An angel of the Lord destroyed in the camp of the Assyrians, in 
one night, an hundred fourscore and five thousand men. 

It is a sufficient reason why all men who engage in a cause 
should consider whether or no it is the cause of God, or whether 
it is contrary to his moral will ; for that cause which God is 
against cannot prosper, and those who promote it will be pu- 
nished. And these angels, my Lords, are always ready at the 
nod of their Lord, to execute his will, and, though not always 
visible, have great power. No force is able to oppose them ; 
they care nothing for trains of artillery, nor hosts in battle array. 
But even without these servants the divine rebuke will overturn 
a thousand immoral schemes. Hear what the Psalmist says: 
'•' There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, 
and the battle. Thou art more glorious than mountains of prey . 
The stout-hearted are spoiled; they have slept their sleep, and none 
of the men of might have found their hands. At thy rebuke, O 
God of Jacob, both their chariot and horse are cast into a deep 
sleep"* In a word, there is nothing but embarrassments at- 

* Psalm lxxvi. 4< 

tend 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



67 



tend an ill cause. This David found in his present case. But 
how was he delivered out of his strait and embarrassment? Per- 
haps, my Lords, you will scarcely light upon the true cause. 
He was directed to offer a sacrifice, and to flee to the blood of 
atonement. A view of an atonement resolved all his doubts, 
and removed all his fears. My Lords, would you, when you 
are embarrassed with difficulties arising from your own sins, 
turn your views to the cross of Christ, you would find more re- 
lief than from all the consultations in the cabinet. For if you 
have sinned, as you dare not say you have not, this view would be 
the most likely means to change your hearts, and dispel all your 
fears. If you once looked truly upon Him whom you have 
pierced, you would mourn for what you have done, and would 
do so no more; and you would find a reason of hope in the work 
of Jesus, that would deliver you out of all your straits. You 
will, perhaps think this strange doctrine: but, my Lords, I 
could not conclude this Discourse without bringing in this sub- 
ject ; it is worth all that you ever will be worth in the world; 
and if you do not consider it seriously, I would not be in your 
places for ten thousand times your pensions. The Apostle tells 
you seriously, " that it is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanseth 
from all sin " David never was relieved from his straits till he 
was directed to take a view, through a typical sacrifice, of the 
atonement of the Messiah who was to come. You have an 
advantage over the king of Israel: " All things written in Moses 
and the prophets concerning Christ are fulfilled-," — and you can 
read these blessed words, " It is finished. Were you to study 
this glorious subject, it would make very different men of you, 
and deliver you both from your guilt and blunders; you would 
shake hands with the kingdoms of this world, and bid farewell 
to all wars and fightings. Amen. 



SERMON 



68 



SERMON X. 



SERMON X. 



2C 



HRON ICLESj iv. 2. 



And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, O Lord, it is 
nothing with thee to help with many, or with them that have 
no power: help us, O Lord our God ; for ice rest on thee, and 
in thy name go against this multitude. So the Lord smote the 
Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah, and the Ethio- 
pians fled* 

A SA, king of Egypt, was on this occasion in a great strait, 



but nothing like that which David was in. Asa had only 
a great host of Ethiopians to contend against; but David 
had the Lord for his enemy. When the Almighty is on the 
side of a nation, no host can subdue it. An host of a thousand 
thousand men, with three hundred chariots besides, came against 
Judah. What a prodigious army was this, my Lords? Your 
ten thousands, and five thousands, and twelve thousands, were 
nothing when compared to this host. Such a number of men 
were fit to eat up a whole continent. The king of Judah had 
scarcely half the number when he went out against them ; and it 
would appear that he did not trust to the valour of his troops, 
or to their being better skilled in war than their enemies. He 
took a better method; he betook himself to the Lord of Hosts. 
This, in our times, would be accounted weakness in a prince ; 
and his nobles would laugh at him, were he to whine and pray 
in the manner Asa did. It is highly probable he would be 
called a coward. But, what is very extraordinary, we do not 
read in all Scripture of a people who turned to the Lord, and 
put their trust in him, were ever defeated by their enemies; 
nor do we, in any one instance, hear of a people that put their 
trust in the Almighty till they were convinced of their sin and 
error. There are some instances of people performing acts of 
devotion when they were in distress, and yet at the same time 
they cleaved to their iniquities; but this was never attended 
with any good consequences. The people of Israel fasted and 
performed many acts of devotion in the days of the prophet 
Isaiah ; but they continued to commit acts of oppression, and 
to live in pride and luxury. It was otherwise in the days of this 
king of Judah: the whole nation reformed, and turned to the 
Lord, and the Lord was with them. The state of the nation 
before the reign of Asa was very like some modem nations in 
Europe. Azariah, the son of Obed, gives a melancholy ac- 
count of the state of the nation before Asa came to the throne : 




" Now 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



69 



M Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, 
and without a teaching priest, and without law : but when they, in 
their trouble, did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought 
him, he was found of them. And in those times there was no 
peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great 
vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries And 
nation ivas destroyed of nation, and city of city : for God did vex 
them with all adversity'' * That is a most shocking account of 
the state of nations, — to be without the true God — without a 
teaching priest — without law. Could any thing be worse? 
There were great plenty of priests, but they did not teach the 
people the law. There were idle priests, drunken priests, and 
voluptuous priests, in abundance, who devoured the fat, and fed 
themselves, but did nothing. They were something like modern 
Bishops, and many of their clergy, who devour thousands, with- 
out preaching once in the year. 

It is vain for any country to expect that God will protect it, 
when the people are given to voluptuous idleness and oppression. 
Before Asa engaged this host, he set the Lord before him, and 
succeeded. It would appear that this was not the first time 
that king Asa had sought the Lord ; for he speaks as if he had 
been acquainted with him, and had a particular interest in him. 
" O Lord our God, we rest on thee." My Lords, it is not every 
one that can speak in this manner. Such as trust to their own 
wisdom, or to an arm of flesh, have no such confidence; these 
say in their hearts, we trust to the good schemes we have de- 
vised — to the goodness of our troops — and to the skill of our 
officers: — what are a thousand thousands to five hundred thou- 
sand men of valour, with good officers upon their head. True, 
my Lords; but how many do you reckon the Almighty may 
stand for? The battle is not always to the strong, more than 
the race to the swift. The king of Judah knew, that without 
the protection of Providence valour would do little; he there- 
fore began at the right end of his work, and, like a humble de- 
pendent suppliant, made his request known to the God of battles, 
and humbly begged his assistance. How humbly does he ex- 
press himself: " It is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, 
or with them that have no power." This was a fair acknowledg- 
ment that no force could prevail against God's will, and that the 
skill and valour of troops are good for nothing, except the Al- 
mighty be upon their side. 

The people that are called in this place ^Ethiopians are in 
the Hebrew called Cushites, a people in Arabia, and not in 
Africa, where the ^Ethiopians have their country ; these were 
probably some of the children of those who had been driven 
out of Palestine by the children of Israel, and wanted to recover 
their original rights and possessions ; but, as their fathers were 



* 3 Chron. xv. 3, 4, S, 6, 

L 



driven 



70 



SERMON X. 



driven out of the land on account of their wickedness, and on 
that account forfeited their right, so the children of Israel had 
their right established by a long prescription. It was therefore 
an unjust war on the part of the Cushites, and an invasion of 
the rights and properties of others. They could neither ask nor 
expect the divine assistance, if they had been so disposed, in 
such an enterprise. There is something, my Lords, exceedingly 
profane in asking the assistance of the Almighty to support a 
cause which is not founded in truth and natural justice. There 
is a vast difference between a nation defending its own rights, and 
attacking others for the sake of dominion* A robber may as 
well ask assistance of the Lord to render him successful on the 
highway, as a nation ask aid of Heaven for power to increase 
its dominion over others. The causes for authorizing mankind 
to ask assistance of God are very plain ; there need be no dispute 
concerning them : and if ever there is any dispute about a cause 
where blood is to be shed, those who mean to attack should de- 
sist from the undertaking. If they proceed, they will find it 
bitterness in the latter end. The case with respect to Asa and 
the people of Israel was clear: the Cushites came to invade and 
lay waste their country; they could not, therefore, without im- 
piety, implore assistance of the Lord against unjust oppression. 
But it was otherwise with the invaders: Heaven could not help 
being against them, unless they had been sent for a scourge to 
Judah on account of the sins of the people. It is not even law- 
ful to ask of God any more power against our enemies than to be 
able to defend ourselves against them ; to do to them as they 
have done to us, is making ourselves as bad as they are. 

The king and the people of Judah, at this time, seem to have 
bad all their confidence in the Almighty ; and, as a testimony 
hereof, immediately after the war, they set about a thorough 
reformation. Instead of being corrupted with the plunders of 
the war, and the booty which they took from the enemy, they 
devoted themselves to the service of the Almighty, and reformed 
all the errors and abuses of the nation. They entered into a 
covenant with God, and put away all idolatry out of the land. 
My Lords, this has not been the case with Great Britain; for 
though she was successful in the last war, and Providence smiled 
upon her enterpfises, yet, since the commencement of the peace, 
instead of gratitude to God, all manner of wickedness has 
abounded. The riches which have been bestowed upon indivi- 
duals, have been wasted upon sinful pleasures; and a contempt of 
religion has attended our riches. If Heaven give Britain pros- 
perity in her present undertakings, it is more than she has reason 
to expect from her present character. The most that can be 
said of these nations at present is, that God may make them, 
like the Assyrians, the rod of his anger, to scourge other people; 
but he will do with them in the end as he did with the Assy- 
rians, throw the rod into the fire. This is not courtly style; but 

yet 



TO MINISTERS OF STATE. 



71. 



yet it is plain, and the principles upon which it is founded are 
plain also. You must not imagine that Providence is an idle 
spectator of what your Lordships are about. No, my Lords; you 
will find it otherwise some time or other. If you want to be 
delivered from the dilemma you are in, take an example from 
Asa and his people. Begin, carry on, and support a reforma- 
tion of manners, and flee to the Lord. It is not a mean thing to 
serve the Lord ; kings and nobles may do it without disgrace- 
yea, they may do it with honour to themselves. Unless they do 
it, they will never be great in any thing, except that they will be 
great sinners. There is not so much danger in reforming, and 
turning to God, as in carrying on a ruinous war: the one is 
good for both soul and body; the other is dangerous to both. It 
requires no expence to reform the manners of a nation; and, by 
doing it, you will need neither additional taxes, nor be plagued 
with estimating the strength of the nation to raise money. You 
need only, as good magistrates, endeavour to make all things less 
expensive, by preferring laws to check pride and extravagance, 
and promote true self-denial. That imaginary greatness which 
you aspire after, is really meanness; there is more true great- 
ness in being like Jesus Christ, in humility, mercy, and meekness, 
than in ail that gaudy glory which great men are fond of. Were 
you as assiduous in promoting temperance, meekness, judgment, 
and faith, as you have been in promoting worldly glory, you 
might have paid off all the national debt before this time. 

I am now, my Lords, going to take my leave of you, and 
would recommend to you, in your present dilemma, to read 
over the chapter where the text is, and the two following ones; 
you will find some lessons there even worthy of Ministers of 
State to learn and practise. You will there see a sovereign hum- 
bling himself before the Almighty, and his people joining with, 
him; an army of five hundred thousand men trusting in the God 
of battles, more than in their own strength ; a battle gained, and 
a great enemy subdued, by the power of the Lord of Hosts; 
and, what is more, you will see the conquerors devoting them- 
selves, and all they were possessed of, to the Most High; ail 
Judah rejoicing at the oath of God, and the kingdom enjoying 
peace and prosperity. These are things worthy of your most 
serious consideration, and ought to occupy your thoughts more 
than worldly dignity or riches. The fashion of this world 
passeth away, my Lords; the stage that you now act upon will 
be removed, the curtains withdrawn, and all your mysteries of 
state revealed. In a little while all the world will be let into 
your greatest secrets. You stare! But, my Lords, it is true. 
" God will bring every ivork into judgment, with every secret 
thing, whether it be good or evil" Do you say, if that was the 
case, your Bishops and Chaplains would have told you? My 
Lords, they have no heart to speak truth ; they dare not speak 
plain, for fear of offending the higher powers, by whom they 



72 



SERMON X. 



live, and by whose influence they have their honours. They 
would be obliged to tell you the same thing that I am telling 
you now, if their pride and interest would let them. My 
Lords, I want none of your favours, nor do I fear any of your 
frowns; I wish you better than even they do: and every man 
is your friend that will tell you the truth. I consider it a duty 
to pray lor all in authority, but at the same time account it jus- 
tice to point out truth to them. Men may become your ene- 
mies for telling you the truth, as was the case with the apostle 
Paul at Galatia; but they are your truest and best friends, and 
you ought to account them so. My Lords, I shall conclude 
with wishing that God may so open your eyes, that you may 
see your errors ; give your hearts to forsake them, and amend 
yo,ur ways, forgive all your iniquities; and pardon your sins; and 
make you take shame and sorrow to yourselves for what you 
have done; that, though your works should be consumed as hay 
and stubble, yet you yourselves may be saved, though it should 
be as by fire. May the king and the people live in love and 
peace; and may the God of love and peace be with them* 
Amen. 



THE END, 



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